On the path of fiscal consolidation

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi could hardly have imagined that UPA 2 would be so engulfed by controversy when the party won a handsome 206 Lok Sabha seats in 2009. As the curtain falls over the latest crisis triggered by Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee, we seem to be in the midst of a very political season. But while the political flavour dominates, a look at the economy and the recent Budget begs more than passing attention. The increased excise rates and..