Here’s what election year interim budgets delivered in the recent past
Jan 24, 2019, 11:00 IST
2014
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P. Chidambaram, the then finance minister stuck to the goal of budget deficit and did not yield to the urge to increase spending to boost up the economy before elections. There was a slash on the excise levied on capital goods and the automobile industry. Coming out of a rupee rout in 2013, the government had little room for fiscal excess.2010
Pranab Mukherjee, the Finance Minister of the then Congress Government did not make any major announcements. However, there had been already an announcement about a countrywide farm loan waiver which was believed to give a second term for the Congress-led alliance.
2004
Jaswant Singh, the Finance Minister of those times who championed the 2005 interim budget expanded the cover on some programs to stretch the benefits to more people. Here were no new tax concessions. However, some tax procedures were simplified and the scope of some existing ones were widened.