Budget Applause, But Where’s the Action Plan: Anil Swarup

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Former Secretary Anil Swarup backs infra push but warns that ease of doing business, rising inequality and corporate concentration threaten inclusive growth.

By S JHA

Mumbai, February 1, 2026 — The Union Budget has drawn praise for its strong emphasis on infrastructure and MSMEs, but former Secretary for School Education and founder chairman of Nexus of Good, Anil Swarup, has injected a sobering note into the post-Budget applause. While complimenting the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for prioritising growth drivers, Swarup argues that India faces a widening Budget action plan gap—between announcements and outcomes.

At the heart of his critique in a note on LinkedIn lies the MSME sector. Swarup points out that more funding is not the core problem; real ease of doing business is. He recalls a high-level committee chaired by former Cabinet Secretary Prabhat Kumar that offered practical, implementable reforms for MSMEs. Years later, the report’s recommendations remain largely unaddressed. Without execution, he warns, budgetary allocations risk becoming symbolic.

Swarup also flags a deeper structural risk: inequality. The top 1 per cent now captures 22 per cent of national income, up from 10 per cent a decade ago. Such concentration, he cautions, is not just an economic imbalance but a potential social fault line. Corporate concentration compounds the problem. With infrastructure, defence, high-speed rail and rare-earth projects dominating capital expenditure, opportunities naturally gravitate towards large conglomerates, narrowing the space for smaller entrepreneurs.

This tilt, Swarup argues, partly explains weak private investment. When tenders cluster around a few firms, broader entrepreneurial energy is stifled. What India needs now is not more slogans or schemes but a clearly defined action plan—what will be done, how, by whom and by when. He points to Nitin Gadkari’s roads sector and digital reforms in finance as proof that execution is possible.

“India doesn’t need doles, statues or speeches,” Swarup concludes. “It needs action on the ground.”