NEW DELHI-Sorry State of Government Finances

NEW DELHI Sorry State of Government Finances BM THE financial and commodity markets arc already exhibiting signs of uncertainty and foreboding about the budget this year. Disappearance of cigarettes from retail outlets and sudden increases in their prices are always a good barometer of this nervous condition. This, moreover, is being experienced even earlier than usual in the pre-budget period. Evidently, it is the revisions and upward adjustments in rates of customs and excise duties, barely two months in advance of the presentation of the budget, that have heightened this nervousness.