An aspirational, long-term Budget

Iam very happy with the interim Budget as it touches almost 90 per cent of the stakeholders without creating fiscal stress for the economy. Despite the ~20,000 crore that was added to the expenditure as part of the farmer package, the fiscal deficit remains at 3.4 per cent for the current year, instead of inching up to 3.6 per cent or 3.8 per cent.

Everyone thought it would be an interim Budget, but it turned out to be close to a full Budget. A package for farmers was expected. The PM-Kisan scheme is applicable only to farmers who own up to 2 hectares of land. Therefore, half of the farmers get impacted, while the other half is left out. I think it is a prudent decision, as covering both categories would have required a bigger outlay and ~75,000 crore would not have sufficed.

What was surprising was the income-tax rebate for the salaried class. It is a very big jump from the current ~2.5 lakh. This will mean an average benefit of ~6,000 per person. While this does not affect the sales of farm equipment, this will be close to 8-10 per cent of their income. This money will go into better or more agri inputs, which, in turn, will help the output.

My biggest positive takeaway from the interim Budget is the 10-point agenda laid out by the finance minister. It is a big step forward and very aspirational and long term. It is an agenda for everyone to work on. No matter who forms a government at the Centre, it is not possible not to follow that.