Union Budget 2020: Just a day is left for Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to announce the Union Budget 2020 and in this Budget, which has become so pivotal considering India’s economic situation, the government must also focus on improving the common good rather than just improving the fiscal situation. “That means continued improvements of basic public services, such as health and education as fundamental goals and addressing the growing environmental crisis, with massive air pollution, the water crisis and the climate change crisis,” Jeffrey Sachs, economist and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, told The Indian Express.
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Speaking on why the global growth has taken a hit, Jeffrey Sachs said that the slowdown, including in India, is emanating from a slumping private investment because of “a lack of clarity about the long-term direction”. There is a direct link between private investment and the government’s focus on social services and climate change. When the government indulges in social welfare and improving climate, the same also gives much greater clarity to private investors, Jeffrey Sachs told the national daily.
The government must involve the private sector in building infrastructure such as for electrification, the solar power must be built in this country; for the electrification of vehicles, the private sector can contribute in the development of battery supply chains. Since there is no clarity of public policy, “we neither have the public investments nor the private investments,” he said. A similar situation also persists in the US because the government “makes no sense in its policies, it’s incoherent,” Jeffrey Sachs said. Drawing parallels to India, he said that big businesses pocket the benefits of tax cuts instead of spending it on new investments.
Meanwhile, the Budget 2020 is slated for 1st February 2020 and it is widely anticipated that the Budget will focus on improving the fiscal situation of the country and boosting growth and consumption.
