The Budget that changed our lives

Union Budget 2018-19

The Budget that changed our lives

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Manmohan Singh's  game-changing budget in 1991 ended the licence raj. A look at how have things changed in the last 27 years1991 was the year when Dr Manmohan Singh opened up the economy by bringing some radical reformsQuick facts

  • 1991: External debt was pegged at 23% of GDP
  • 2017: External debt stood at 20.2% of GDP in March 2017
  • 1991: Fiscal deficit was at 8% of GDP
  • 2016: Fiscal deficit was at 3.5% of GDP
  • 1991: Foreign Exchange Reserves were Rs 2500 cr
  • 2017: Foreign Exchange Reserves were Rs 26 lakh cr

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1991: Only nationalised banks operated in the country2017: There many more banks operating nationally. There are:27: Public sector banks26: Private sector banks46: Foreign banks56: Regional rural banks1,574: Urban cooperative banks93,913: Rural cooperative banks

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With increase in money in the economy, the salaries went up manifold, especially in the private sector. Picture this:Cabinet Secretary's salary1991: Rs 30,000 per month2017: Rs 250,000 per month

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1991: There was only one television channel -Doordarshan, the public service broadcaster and covered 70 mn homes. With opening up of the economy, the number of channels increased.  2017: 882 channels; 183 mn TV setsForeign brands dominated the television sets market, with 80% shareLG, Samsung, Sony are the market leaders

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Before 1991, Indian brands like Murphy radio, Dyanora, Beltek, Texla TV, GoldSpot, Thums Up were the market leaders.Picture this: Post-liberalisation, the non-alcoholic beverage market in India is worth Rs 14,000 cr in 2016, up from just Rs 200 crore in 1991. Coco Cola and Pepsi are the market leaders

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From having mere 0.5 mn telephone subscribers in 1991, India is currently the 2nd largest telecommunication market and has the 3rd highest number of internet users in the world.In June 2017, the subscriber base stood at 1,210.84 mn; total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA and LTE) were 1,186.84 mn

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1991: There were only four homegrown brands - Premier Automobiles, Hindustan Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra and Standard MotorsPost liberalisation, India allowed 51% FDI in auto manufacturing, which was raised to 100%, leading to introduction of brands like Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and others

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1991: Air India & Indian Airlines were the only players and offered fixed prices on tickets8.9 mn: No. of  air passengers annually2017: 10+ airlines now operate in India offering dynamic pricing on air tickets265+ mn: No. of  air passengers annually