The budget promises to make it easier for the common man too – easier to leave, though it is not clear leave what.

“Now, our Government has taken Ease of Doing business further by stress on 'Ease of Leaving' [sic] for the common men of this country, especially for those belonging to poor & middle class of the society,” the finance minister promises in his budget speech.

What is meant, of course, is ‘Ease of Living’, but the official document available on the finance ministry website, has an unfortunate spelling mistake. It will be, one hopes, corrected soon.

The next line says, “Good governance also  aims  at  minimum  interference  by  the  government  in  the  life  of common people of the country” – though this is the time when everybody is queuing up to link their Aadhaars with bank accounts, mobile phones, insurances policies, mutual funds, and so on – the whole range of services for which a mandatory tie-up was not envisioned originally.