India's Slowing Economy Forces Budget Decisions "Not too long ago, when India's economy was roaring amid predictions of high growth rates for years to come, the finance minister could be forgiven for strutting during budget week," Jim Yardley wrote in The New York Times, "he got to march into India's Parliament with the ceremonial briefcase bearing a budget stuffed with goodies." But when current finance minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram, arrives in Parliament to deliver the budget on Thursday, "his steps will be heavier, and the mood is likely to be, too," Mr. Yardley wrote. The government is "pinned between conflicting pressures," he wrote, faced with "slowing growth, persistent inflation and sagging investor confidence," which need "tough steps" to avoid long-term fiscal problems, economists warn. But political leaders are "leery of introducing unpopular measures" before an election year.