Former Union finance minister P. Chidambaram said this year's budget "has failed the test of economic strategy and economic statesmanship".

"The most serious criticism of the budget speech is that the finance minister is not tired of announcing a number of schemes, programmes, missions, institutes, initiatives, funds, committees, hubs, et cetera.... I counted at least 24. I leave it to your imagination how many of these will be forgotten and abandoned by next year," Congress veteran Chidambaram said.

He added: "Even by an accountant’s standards, it was a poor account of the management of finances in 2024-26. Revenue receipts were short by ₹786 crore. Total expenditure was short by ₹153 crore. Revenue expenditure was short by ₹75,168 crore, and capital expenditure was cut by ₹1,44,376 crore."

Chidambaram went on: "Actually, the Centre's capital expenditure has fallen from 3.2 per cent of GDP in 2024 to 3.1 per cent in 2025-26. Capital expenditure has actually fallen in the year that concluded. In revenue expenditure, the cuts have fallen on heads that concern the common people.

"I am giving you some examples: rural development ₹5,367 crore is a cut, urban development ₹39,573 crore, social welfare ₹999 crore, agriculture ₹6,985 crore, education ₹671 crore, health ₹3,686 crore....

"Expenditure on the much-touted Jal Jeevan Mission... was drastically cut from ₹67,000 crore (in 2025-26) to a mere ₹17,000 crore.... In 2026-27, it has been boosted in the budget to ₹67,670 crore, but what credibility does this number have?”

The former finance minister gave a stark prediction of the economy.

He said: "After the months-long exercise, the fiscal deficit has been pegged at 4.4 per cent and the projection for 2026-27 is that the fiscal deficit will fall by a meagre 0.1 per cent from 4.4 to 4.3. The revenue deficit will remain stationary at 1.5 per cent."

Chidambaram claimed that the budget does not offer solutions to the challenges identified in the Economic Survey. He explained: “I think household debt has touched 51.7 per cent or so. And correspondingly, household savings have come down. The finance minister did not even mention these two numbers.”

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal told reporters: "Today, the biggest problems facing the country are unemployment and inflation, but today's budget shows no blueprint for creating jobs. This budget will prove to increase both inflation and unemployment even further.”