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Budget 2025: What’s at Stake?, a series co-produced by The Wire and Centre for Financial Accountability

Episode 1
The Economic Rights Every Indian Should Have | Prabhat Patnaik (Senior Economist)

Episode 2
Budget 2025 Needs to Focus on the Unorganised Sector | Arun Kumar (Senior Economist)

Episode 3
Research, Essential Services, Medicine Production: The Health Budget India Needs | Indranil (Professor, School of Government and Public Policy, OP Jindal Global University, & associated with Jan Swasthya Abhiyan)

Episode 4
What Kind of Budget Does India’s Banking Sector Need | Thomas Franco (Social activist, banking reform advocate, and former General Secretary of the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC).)

Episode 5
MGNREGA Is Essential for the Economy, Govt Shouldn’t Use it in Opportunistic Ways | Anuradha Talwar (Social Activist and Educator)

Episode 6
A Wealth Tax on the Super Rich Would Help Address India’s Inequalities | Jayati Ghosh, Economist & Professor, University of Massachusetts

Episode 7
How the Budget can be Sensitive to Dalit & Adivasi Needs | Beena Pallical, Human Rights Activist & general secretary of the Dalit Arthik Adhikar Andolan.

Episode 8
Five Ways in which the Budget Can be More Climate Sensitive | Soumya Dutta , Climate Justice activist and researcher.

Episode 9
Budget 2025 Must Ensure Higher Investment in Agriculture and Rural Development | Vijoo Krishnan , General Secretary of All India Kisan Sabha

Episode 10
India Needs Neighbourhood Schools, the Budget Should Work in That Direction | Dinesh Abrol , Professor, Institute of Studies in Industrial Development

Episode 11
Budget Should Support Dietary Diversity to Ensure Food Security in India | Dipa Sinha , Development Economist & Academic

Episode 12
Naari Shakti is an empty slogan, budgets have ignored women’s needs | Ritu Dewan , Economist & Professor

Episode 13
Budget Should Reflect That Pensions Are Not a Dole, They Are a Right | Nikhil Dey , Rights Activist & Founding Member of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan

Episode 14
Affordable Housing, Public Transport, Climate Resilience: What the Budget can do for Cities | Tikender Singh Panwar , Public policy expert and former Deputy Mayor of Shimla

The BUDGET SERIES: A WRAP

BUDGET 2025-26 DOESN’T ADDRESS INDIA’S CORE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES

With a focus on election states, the Budget 2025-26 released by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has left core issues unaddressed, experts believe. Economists Jayati Ghosh, Arun Kumar and Dipa Sinha talk about how areas like increasing consumption, creation of jobs and welfare requirements remain unaddressed.