Analysis of Indian Union Budget 2017-18: A Crystal View

Abstract

A government budget is defined as an official document passed by the legislature and approved by the chief executive or President. The two basic elements of any budget are the revenues and expenses. Government Budget is designed for best possible allocation of scarce resources taking into account larger economical and socio-political considerations. According to Aaron Wildavsky, a political scientist worked in government budgeting, public policy and risk management, budgets are political documents; the decisions that lead to the final budget are answers to central political questions, that is, "who gets what and how." Budget is a document which provides the detailed plan of government for the coming financial year with the review of past and designed for the best possible distribution of resources. It is the financial reflection of the government and explains what it does and intends to do. The holistic view of budget has been a rare sight as the tool had not been available. Crystal maze is a framework to analyze Union Budget through various perspectives and provides different ways of looking at the budget and then the analysis can answer that ‘To which sector budget should be linked?’ This Crystal Maze concept has been proposed by Prof. Subhash Sharma in his article named, “Crystal Gazing for Budget Analysis: Seven Ways Framework of Looking at the Budget”. He has observed that everyone needs to understand the Union Budget through “The Budget Crystal”. This Crystal Maze Model takes a holistic view of the budget by looking at it from seven different perspectives viz Common Man, Sectoral, Corporate, Fiscal, Security, Development and Local Global.