SC Garg's Explanation and Commentary on the Budget 2024-25: A review

I have a huge collection of books at my home. With every passing day the collection grows as I add to it through impulse buying. There is a saying that as you get more absorbed into reading, the unfinished pile of books grows rather than decreasing. It is slightly counterintuitive but true. Mr SC Garg's 4 books in all their hardcopy glory form part of my library and they are the quintessential reference resource which I bank upon whenever I want to write about the Indian economy.

These books (with the exception of the 2023 book, We also make policy) are not your  leisurely weekend read. They demand serious attention and contemplation after every few pages. You keep questioning your existing beliefs and opinions in the light of data rich analysis presented by the author.

The three books in Mr Garg's oeuvre ie Book one and two covering Explanation and Commentary on the Indian Budget ( last year's 2023-24 edition and this year 2024-25 edition) and 2022 published The $ 10 Trillion Dream are highly recommended for any one who wants to deep dive into the issues which Indian economy faces. Author's long and illustrious stint as the policy maker in the annals of Finance ministry with Central Govt and with Rajasthan state prior to that, provide him a very detailed view of the economy. 

Coming to the latest edition in the Budget Explanation and Commentary series ie 2024-25 Budget book. The book, like its predecessor, unpacks the union budget. It is divided into 4 parts i.e. Key Budget numbers, result and outcomes of the previous budget, how the implementation panned out and finally the explanation section.

As I pointed earlier, this book is more in the reference material domain and needs to be consumed slowly. It is also not required to be read in a sequential fashion. For me as I am more aligned to bond markets, Part 1 and Part 4 were more relevant where the author explains the budget numbers in detail and links it to fiscal deficit and govt borrowings. The budgetary receipt numbers, especially the direct and indirect tax collection and non tax revenues like the RBI dividend, generate a lot of press attention when they are released. The book teaches you how to see them in context. In his book The $10 Trillion Dream, Mr Garg has written extensively about the concept of RBI reserves and provided context on the transfers from RBI coffers to govt apart from explaining the role of background work like Jalan committee recommendation. When you see the numbers in the current book in the backdrop of that information, you understand the system much better.

The Budget books, which I am sure are just the first two in the series of books to come every year, are a notable addition to the knowledge pool about the Indian economy. As interest in Indian bonds grows and both active and passive funds make a beeline to India, these books provide the necessary knowledge to take informed calls. They are a departure from periodic notes which are put out by research houses as they are more focused on predicting the yield movement of certain budgetary announcements. Mr Garg's books dont carry the burden of predicting the yield movements and hence can take a non urgent approach. Though one must caution that like any other work these books also carry a quantum of author's own biases but then that is true for any analysis which we read.

I am at best a student of the Indian economy making an effort to read the budget properly and make an informed view. Explanation and Commentary on the Budget 2024-25 is a useful edition to the set of books I keep referencing.