“…On Wednesday, the government halved tax rates to 5% for those earning between about $3,700 and $7,400 a year. At the same time, it stuck an extra 10% surcharge on income-tax payers earning between $74,000 and $149,000, effectively punishing them for being among the less than 6% of earning individuals who pay any income tax at all. A reduction in the corporate-tax rate does not apply to large firms. In Mr. Modi’s India, to get rich is viewed as suspicious, not glorious.
Many of these attitudes are shared widely among a political class that almost uniformly describes itself as socialist. The BJP’s leftward lurch is probably due in part to opposition taunts that it was too pro-business. The government’s chief economic advisor, Arvind Subramanian, suggests that the problem may go even deeper. He noted in a report released ahead of the budget that “India has distinctly anti-market beliefs relative to others.”
Whatever the reason, it’s time to accept that whatever else Mr. Modi uses his 2014 mandate for, it will not be to dramatically reform Asia’s third-largest economy.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-modest-indian-budget-to-modify-expectations-1486059673?tesla=y