New Delhi, Feb. 1 -- The first full-year budget of India's new National Democratic Alliance government, sworn in after the 2024 general election, was presented against the backdrop of a noticeable slowdown in economic growth over the last four quarters. I discussed the issue of whether this slowdown is cyclical or structural in a recent column for Mint, summarizing it as being an issue of expectations.

The economic commentary at that time was about slowing consumption dragging down overall economic activity and growth. However, the consumption problem, as we know, is fundamentally one of incomes.

To understand this, we must go back to the post-demonetization period (after November 2016, i.e.) and subsequent shocks or changes like the ro...