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.