Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s seventh budget articulates a bold, even radical vision for sustaining India’s fast growth in an uncertain world. At its heart are measures to make the best use of India’s demographic dividend, which is what lies at the core of India’s vision of its Amrit Kaal, the centenary of its Independence. The most visible dimensions of this strategy are the multiple initiatives in the budget to stimulate employment in the formal sector. This is rightly seen as the most reliable way to boost labour productivity.
