Budget 2017 - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision late last year to scrap high-value bank notes has put his finance minister in a bind ahead of the annual budget next month.
Arun Jaitley is under pressure to offer tax giveaways and step up capital and welfare spending to ease the pain from demonetisation, but the economic disruption caused by Modi's jolt has made forecasting next year's revenue outlook a stab in the dark.
While indirect tax receipts grew by an annual 14.2% in December, a slump in consumer spending along with a contraction in services and manufacturing suggest the outlook is anything but rosy.
Adding to his dilemma is a delay in launching a new national Goods and Services Tax that would replace a slew of indirect levies.
"It is an unprecedented budget," said a senior government official with direct knowledge of fiscal planning, likening it to navigating in uncharted waters.
Modi's decision in November to scrap 500- and 1,000-rupee notes - 86% of the cash in circulation - sought to crack down on tax dodgers and counterfeiters. Yet it has left companies, farmers and households in all sorts of bother.
The International Monetary Fund has trimmed its growth outlook for the fiscal year beginning in April to 7.2% from 7.6% previously, citing the blow to the cash-reliant economy.
Jaitley plans to deliver his budget on Feb 1, just before voting begins in a round of regional elections, the biggest in the swing state of Uttar Pradesh. Their outcome will be key for Modi's chances of winning a second term in 2019.(Read More)
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