why the poor in India remain poor.According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Social Mobility report, in India, it would take 7 generations for a member of a poor family to achieve average income; in Denmark, it would take just 2 generations to do so. A key concern leading up to the Budget for 2020-21 was the falling credibility of Budget numbers. With Covid-19 playing havoc with the economy even before the start of the new financial year, this problem is likely to sustain. Another key concern in the Budget — and this, too, is likely to be a concern in the forthcoming Budget of 2021-22 — was the adherence to fiscal rectitude. But the ugly truth about