28 Feb 2013

New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram's 'safety first' Budget has got a mixed response. While some say he is salvaging a bad situation, the Opposition has called it a missed opportunity. When asked whether the Budget is an adequate response to the challenge that the Indian economy is facing, BJP leader Arun Jaitley said, "Well I don't think it's an adequate response. The Finance Minister and the UPA had pushed the economy into a corner and therefore, given this helpless situation, the best argument that can be said in its favour is, he was faced with this helpless situation, he had very little elbow space, and therefore he did a little of what he could."

The BJP also said the government has failed to kickstart growth. "They are in power for the last 10 years and if there is no leverage for the Finance Minister to go for a big ticket or big direction budget, it is entirely because the elbow room constraint is because of his own creation. Now in the paragraph 9 of the budget, the FM says investment is down, sentiment is down, everything is down, nothing has been done today to pep up that confidence in the investors," BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

While the opposition gave a thumbs down to the 2013 budget, BJP ally and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar congratulated the Finance Minister saying his expectations were met. "I appreciate what the Finance Minister has done in Budget 2013. We had spoken with the PM and FM previously and expressed our expectations. I'm glad to see them being incorporated in the budget. I think it's a huge win at a principle level," he said.

Meanwhile, experts have questioned the laid back attitude of successive governments. Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy said, "The reality is simply that the CEOs in India have a lot of hassles with the government.

That is not because of ministers, that is not because of any specific bureaucrat but the whole system itself is attuned to apathy, inaction, postponement and the 'chalta hai' attitude. The need of the day is to make sure that we act as if there is no tomorrow."

The government, however, feels that it has done what best it could have. Union Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said, "The helpless situation is not of our making.

We are in a global economy where there is a downturn. Within the constraints that the Finance Minister was faced with, I think he has given a very sensible, practical budget to the people of this country."

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has welcomed the Budget, said he is optimistic about returning to 8 per cent growth in the next two to three years.

"The Finance Minister has laid out the roadmap, plenty of food for every ministry to chew there. Each ministry has to ask themselves that question that if we need 8 per cent growth what we need to do. It is up to the collective wisdom of council of ministers," Manmohan Singh said.The Budget seems to have got a positive response from India Incorporate.

"I think it's a good budget. We need to do whatever is needed to do according to the growth. It's pro-investments, more directional. The Finance Minister has not put any surprises, that's good," said Shivinder Mohan Singh, CEO and Managing Director of Fortis Healthcare Ltd. "Growth is important. We need to bring the agenda to the centre. The taxes have come by way of surcharge," said Naina Lal Kidwai, Group General Manager and Country Head of HSBC India.

But the markets gave a thumbs down to the budget with the Sensex and Nifty nosediving to a three-month low on Thursday. The Sensex shut shop 290 points down, and the Nifty closed over a 100 points down on Thursday. Meanwhile, international credit rating agencies Standard and Poors and Fitch have said that India's 2013-2014 financial budget will not hamper their sovereign rating for India.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram presented his 8th budget on Thursday, the last before the 2014 elections.

Some highlights of the Budget 2013 were:

- There will be a 10 per cent surcharge on the super rich, that is people with an income of over Rs 1 crore. This super rich tax will impact 42,800 people.

- A 10 per cent surcharge also on corporate tax for incomes over Rs 10 crore. With this the government hopes to mop up Rs 13,300 crore.

- There is no change in tax rates and slabs, also no change in excise and customs duty.

- There's good news if you are a first time home loan customer. There is an additional Rs 1 lakh exemption for you.

- Some things that got more expensive include Cigarettes, foreign SUVs, mobile phones, eating out.

- There is an increased allocation for social sector and agriculture spending, which not surprising given that the elections are just a year away.

source:http://ibnlive.in.com