‘Budget fails to respond to economy’s most pressing challenges’

New Delhi: Former Union Finance minister P Chidambaram on Saturday argued that the Union Budget 2026-2027 fails to respond to the economy’s most pressing challenges and relies on fiscal arithmetic rather than strategy.

Turning to the government’s fiscal record for 2025-26, Chidambaram said the revised estimates painted a “poor account” of financial management.

Revenue receipts were short by Rs 78,086 crore, while total expenditure fell short by Rs 1,00,503 crore.

Revenue expenditure declined by Rs 75,168 crore, and capital expenditure was cut by Rs 1,44,376 crore, including substantial reductions at both the Centre and State levels.

He noted that the Centre’s capital spending had slipped as a share of GDP compared to the previous year.

He flagged concerns over the slow pace of fiscal consolidation, persistent revenue and fiscal deficits that deviate from the FRBM path.