As we anticipated in our India budget preview, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman struck a balance between growth-supporting measures and easing the country's long-term debt burden. Middle-class tax cuts grabbed the headlines. But the budget also addressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's priorities in agriculture, labor-intensive manufacturing and exports. Changes to the electricity market were also of note: India wants more nuclear energy, and is liberalizing rules in this sector to attract more private and foreign capital.

India's budget will be presented on Feb. 1, with most observers expecting restraint with a view to whittling down the post-pandemic debt load. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is tasked with lowering the nation's interest payments and obtaining a sovereign rating upgrade from international credit agencies -- while also supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious growth plans with infrastructure spending. (The budget comes in the wake of Modi's election disappointment last year, which saw the prime minister retain power but lose his party's electoral majority for the first time in a decade.)