India's Fiscal Policy Prescriptions, Pragmatics and Practice

This book seeks to balance normative prescriptions on fiscal policy with its practical aspects in the context of the Indian scenario. In doing so, it brings together views of leading experts from academic and policy spheres. It highlights the specificities of Indian fiscal policy and studies current issues like the impact of development expenditures, the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the challenge of reducing subsidies and different aspects of political economy. India's Fiscal Policy discusses rapid developments in the field following the fiscal stimulus of 2008, subsequent attempts at fiscal consolidation and the formation of the NDA government. It focuses on policy and political considerations and adopts a wider approach for the analysis of fiscal policy by taking into consideration aspects such as the effectiveness and targeting of social expenditures, which are essential for a critical analysis of the Indian policy matrix.

Foreword Kaushik Basu; Acknowledgements; Disclaimer; Introduction. Contours of the Indian fiscal policy debate; 1. Fiscal policy in India: trends and trajectory Supriyo De; 2. Decentralization, indirect tax reform and fiscal federalism in India Raghbendra Jha; 3. Fiscal implications of energy subsidies S. Narayan; 4. Fiscal implications of food security in India: a critical review N. R. Bhanumurthy and Ruth Kattumuri; 5. Land and food acts: trading economic pragmatism for political gain Amitendu Palit; 6. A separate debt management office in India Charan Singh; 7. Show me the cash: direct benefits transfer in India Rajesh Chakrabarti; 8. India's education challenges: expenditure effectiveness issues Anu Rammohan and Itismita Mohanty; List of contributors; Index.

Supriyo De is working with Ministry of Finance, Government of India. He is an Indian Revenue Service officer and currently with the World Bank in Washington DC on deputation. He has a PhD in Economics from University of Sydney (2004–8) and Master of Economics from Yokohama National University, Japan (2002–4) as a part of the Joint Japan World Bank scholarship programme. He was also Emerging Leaders Fellow, Australia India Institute, University of Melbourne, Australia (2011). He belongs to the 1995 Batch of the Indian Revenue Service. He has work experience in various departments of the Ministry of Finance, gaining expertise in matters relating to international economic relations, national economic policy, fiscal management, public finance, tax policy, tax administration and national budgeting. He conducted various capacity building and training programmes for professionals in the fields of fiscal policy and tax administration. Other research interests include economic growth, macroeconomics and technology policy. He has contributed to The New Oxford Companion to Economics in India, 3rd edition (edited by Kaushik Basu and Annemie Maertens, 2012). His research publications include journal articles in The Economic Record and Singapore Economic Review.