In the latest episode of his web-based show The Deshbhakt, satirist Akash Banerjee discussed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget 2019. “They have increased the taxes on imported books by 5% so that people can educate themselves on WhatsApp,” he said.

Banerjee listed what he considers the major problems with Sitharaman’s Budget: It included no expenditure details, no “big-bang reforms” despite the mandate, no plan to revive the economy. And, he added, it gave a boost to protectionism.

In fact, according to Banerjee, the Budget did not have much for the middle-class Indians other than an additional tax deduction for home loans taken up to March 2020.