Nirmala Sitharaman Highlights: FM announces LTC cash voucher scheme, special festive advance to boost GDP

The festival advance with only a single condition of digital spending which is implemented through a rupay prepaid card, without any other frills, is definitely a welcome one and is expected to be well received by the salaried class. However, the estimate of the increase in demand of around Rs 36000 crores as against estimated spending of Rs 11500 crores by the central government seems to be overstated. In the current scenario, expecting the private sector and the state governments to spend a similar amount cannot be justified. Divakar Vijayasarathy, Founder and Managing Partner, DVS Advisors LLP