On average a rural person has an income of less than Rs 35,000 per anum while the per capita GDP of India for 2021-22 was almost five times.

Rather than treating youth as a lost case, we must recognise their strengths and build upon them.

While there is a reduction in hunger narrowly defined as not being on an 'empty stomach', food security needs to be redefined as ‘having access to safe and nutritious food that meets dietary needs and preferences’.

The recent trends in women's labour force participation rates, showing a stark increase in women’s employment, are puzzling.

While there are some welcome developments, other figures are puzzling and need thorough analysis before we celebrate.

One of the main objectives of the Make in India initiative was to increase the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25% by 2025. However, ten years later the share of manufacturing still remains the same.

With an ageing population, these are issues that need to be considered before expanding insurance-based healthcare for the elderly rather than direct provision of services through public hospitals.

Among school teachers, there is a wide variation in work conditions both due to the different kind of schools that exist as well as the varying contractual arrangements that teachers work under.

A shift in attention to improving dietary diversity for all can also be a good segue towards a comprehensive food and nutrition policy based on a ‘food systems’ approach.

Having proper representation of Dalit, OBC and Adivasi communities in public-facing roles makes public offices more accessible and helps improve the delivery of services.

In the Economic Survey, there is of course no discussion on the state of public services and their declining share in government expenditure.

The orientation of the government towards jobs is that employment generation is mainly the private sector’s problem.

While improvement in reporting in the gender budget statement is definitely required, this needs to be done in a more transparent manner.

There are limits to what a Budget can do, it is an accounting statement after all – but at the same time it can and has been in the past used to signal what the priorities of the government of the day are.

It is clear that growth has been concentrated in a few areas and has also benefitted only the rich. 

What we need is a universal old age pension scheme that provides a decent, minimum wage-linked monthly amount to all, excluding those already covered by other pension plans.

Daily meal preparations for the family continue to remain a woman’s task, across class, caste and region. Among other things, it leads to a crucial time poverty.

Despite a reduced majority, the tendency to posit every programme and intervention as the prime minister’s largesse towards the masses seems to be continuing.

Improvements in toilet access and bank accounts are easier to link to direct government schemes, but the first step towards an honest analysis of what worked and what didn’t would be reviving India’s data ecosystem through conducting the Census and consumption expenditure survey.

Presenting a budget, especially in the midst of an economic crisis, is an opportunity to communicate a government's vision for the country. This budget fails to do that and seems to be completely disconnected from ground realities.