Some things to Reconsider

For years, Indian economists droned the same refrain — too much revenue expenditure, not enough capital expenditure. The government, they said, must stop spending on salaries and start building roads. It’s the fiscal equivalent of being told to eat more protein and less dessert. Under Narendra Modi, the state has gone on a construction binge worthy of the Mughal emperors — ₹54 trillion poured into capital expenditure in just eleven years. In the last three alone, we’ve spent over ₹11 trillion annually. Roads, railways, defence, water projects — you name it. The bulldozers haven’t rested since. So, naturally, one would expect an economic dawn — faster movement of goods, lower logistics costs, more jobs, happier people. A Keynesian dream, in other words: the government spends, demand rises, and the private sector jumps in, inspired and eager. Only, it hasn’t. The animal spirit is not just asleep; it seems comatose. Private capital expenditure — the ultimate litmus test of investo...

  Not long ago, we lost Surf’s Lalita Ji —Kavita Chaudhary—immortalised by the line, “Surf ki kharidari mein samajhdari hai.” That campaign from the 1980s celebrated intelligence in consumption—an India that sought value, where every rupee had to stretch, forcing manufacturers to sharpen their act. Compare that with today’s Swiggy Uncle , Naresh Gosain sneaking a Gulab Jamun behind his wife’s back. That ad isn’t about thrift at all—it’s about indulgence, instant gratification and premiumisation. Markets, as economists remind us, are giant information-processing machines. They respond to demand. If you take the Lalitaji-to-Swiggy arc as metaphor, our consumption has migrated from careful spend to aspirational spend. Lalitaji’s India wanted efficiency; Swiggy’s India wants convenience and small luxuries. Policy, however, is still struggling to catch up. The Union Budget this year tried to sweeten the middle class with some tax relief. The idea: give people more cash, they’ll spe...