New Delhi, Jan. 29 -- The Government will present its Budget or Vote-on-Account in the Lok Sabha on February 1. With the next general elections expected in May and in the backdrop of the victories by its Opposition parties in three state polls last month, it is widely expected that the Government will try to woo rural and urban middle-class voters and farmers in this Budget, but economy watchers view that the Indian industry needs no less attention, considering several major challenges presently facing it.
According to official figures, the industrial output growth rate slowed to 0.5 percent -- its lowest rise since June 2017-- in November. This is not a good signal, and though the 5-percent growth in IIP during the April-November 2018 per...