India has kept from the British occupation the tradition of the "red box," the red briefcase containing the government's budget that is presented each year by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman showed off the famous briefcase on Saturday, February 1, at the presentation of the 2025-2026 budget. It is no longer a heavy red leather box, but a simple envelope for a digital tablet.

India, which recently humiliated its former colonizer in cricket, also intends to show it the way to modernism. It's also a reminder that the country is now the growth champion of emerging countries. Growth is forecast at 6.4% for the current year.

However, the budget bears the mark of concern for a serious slowdown in growth in gross domestic product. Over the 2023-2024 fiscal year, it was 8.2%. Consumption is running out of steam in the face of rising prices. It even slowed to 5.4% between July and September 2024. After promoting infrastructure spending, the government is trying to encourage Indians' purchasing appetite.

Sitharaman announced an ambitious tax cuts program for the urban middle classes. The income tax payment threshold will be doubled to €13,400. Stimulating demand by cutting taxes is what some economists call "right-wing Keynesianism." It's less egalitarian than through subsidies or wages, as is the case in China and Europe.

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