India, Feb. 2 -- In her ninth consecutive budget, which includes an interim one, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman combined a grand futuristic vision with micro-technical tinkering, partly shied away from big-ticket reforms and immediate radical changes, and did not focus too much on the financial numbers that seemed weak and unstable.

She started the speech with a few bangs, and ended up in a whimper. Analysts and experts ran around to understand the technical nitty-gritties of the budget, frustrated investors pulled the Sensex down by more than 1,800 points, and the middle class licked their fingers in disappointment. The industry hid its lack of enthusiasm behind the proposals that hinted changes over the next 5, 10, and 20 years. ...