Historically the country's annual budget exercise has been a major event and spectacle in the annual economic calendar. There was a time when the post budget analysis by people like Nani Palkiwala used to draw audiences in droves. Off late with the dropping of the railway budget, and the introduction of the GST, the annual budget is increasingly becoming just another important day in the announcements made by the government. This year there were expectations of a populist budget in view of upcoming state elections but that did not happen. We have a budget focused on growing capital investments and infrastructure.

To discuss this and more on this episode of BIC Talks we have Pranay Kotasthane, deputy director of Takshashila Institution where he teaches public policy, international relations, and public finance at Takshashila's graduate and post-graduate programmes in conversation with Narayan Ramachandran, social entrepreneur, columnist and emerging market investor.