How India's budget this week will shape its general elections this year
2019-02-01 10:05:18 source：CNBC
February 1, 2019
As India unveils its interim budget on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party will likely dole out handouts to attract voters ahead of the general election that's due to be called by May. The main planks of India's budget will likely include: A farm sector relief package to attract the crucial farmers' vote, tax cuts and support for badly hit small and medium businesses.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) suffered a stinging election defeat in December, losing three key states to the opposition party. The budget is all the more crucial now as it marks the last major chance for the BJP to consolidate support from its voter base, pointed out Rajiv Biswas, Asia Pacific chief economist at IHS Markit.
The government's new budget will likely introduce measures to boost support for rural voters, as well as to small and medium businesses, that were badly affected by the unpopular demonetization program and implementation of the new Goods and Services Tax in the last few years.
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