WHAT’S THE BIG POLITICAL / ECONOMIC MESSAGE OF THIS BUDGET?
AD.K. JOSHI
Economic message: The government will balance growth and redistribution
ASHIMA GOYAL
That the government is serious about moving from an informal to a formal economy with modern laws and regulation
USHA THORAT
Appeal to the rural population and lower income strata of society
ADITI NAYAR
The budget has struck a prudent tone, emphasising public investments and introducing incremental steps to promote schemes like Digital India and Skill India, while abstaining from populist giveaways despite the note ban
N.R. BHANUMURTHY
The budget attempts to send the message that it is pro-poor, pro-farmer as well as pro-states and not necessarily pro-industry as was described in the past. In the aftermath of demonetisation, there were pressures on the government to provide doles. But by resisting these pressures and focusing more on investments, the government has done a great job. Another important focus of the budget is on improving public service delivery, which, in my view, will help a lot in achieving better outcomes
RAJIV KUMAR
That we are entering a new normal in the use of cash and in the scope of parallel economy and black economy transactions
ASHOK GULATI
It wants to focus on development with a hope to create jobs for the youth
NAUSHAD FORBES
The main message of the budget is consistency of policy and purpose. Much effort is being made to move to a transparent system with greater tax compliance. Greater formalisation of the economy through digitalisation will lead to these benefits
SAMIRAN CHAKRABORTY
The big message is that growth of the economy will be supported through higher capital expenditure and redistribution. And the fact that the budget did not pander to electoral temptations and lean towards populism gives out a positive signal