Fourth, the report also says that all the additional spending will be financed without relaxing the fiscal consolidation path. But the math does not add up. If Rs 1.02 lakh crore (or more) is to be paid out to government employees, and more money will be paid for new schemes in irrigation, etc, and both the food security and NREGA safety nets will cost even more, fiscal consolidation can come only at the cost of cutting out productive investment. This is the old Pranab-Chidambaram strategy of cutting out muscle to feed flab that led to the slowdown.