When India's Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, presents the federal budget on February 1, she will confront a country mired in a severe demand slowdown and will be expected to devise concrete policy responses to ramp up economic activity and boost sentiment.
But while economists and experts are giving her long-term supply-side prescriptions to boost productivity and efficiency, what New Delhi really needs are short-term fixes to revive consumer demand. Only that will prompt the private sector to kick-start investment and support economic growth.
