Should the government loosen its purse strings?

With the Union Budget 10 days away, many economic observers are now focused on what support the Centre can offer the economy, which is still struggling to recover from the pandemic. Some analysts believe that the government must keep its spending in check to prevent price rise from getting out of control. Retail inflation is hovering close to 6%, while the wholesale inflation rate is in double digits. Other analysts, however, believe that the current rise in prices is a temporary phenomenon, and that the government must ignore the fiscal deficit and ramp up spending to support the ailing economy. Here we discuss the way forward. Guests: Himanshu , Associate Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University; N.R. Bhanumurthy , Vice-Chancellor of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar School of Economics University Host: Prashanth Perumal Read the Parley article here .