A progressive and optimistic outlook

Many other positives of the Budget are enhanced corpus for MGNREGA,PMGSY,RIDF,Indira Awas Yojana along with increased funds for Nabard so that refinancing can be extended to projects pertaining to warehousing,cold storage,etc which will go a long way in addressing the supply bottlenecks that have been fuelling food inflation.

Other projects aimed at improving connectivity like 3,000 km of new road projects to be awarded in the next six months,two new ports in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh,one outer harbour in Tamil Nadu,a grid combining ports,inland waterways and roadways,etc. The work on three industrial corridors is also something to cheer about.

I am especially excited about the proposal to step up domestic coal production by forming PPPs with Coal India Ltd. However,the increase in customs duty for coal will further increase electricity tariff,which should have been avoided. Also states have been encouraged to submit their power distribution company restructuring plans to the power ministry and avail benefit of the scheme. As regards oil and gas sector,the proposed move from a profit sharing to revenue sharing arrangement in terms of shale gas production is also a step in the right direction.

National Housing Bank has been provided additional funds to promote rural housing through refinancing and has also been instructed to set up an urban housing fund. Further,additional tax incentives for the first-time home owner is also a good move. All these augur well and will play an important role in stimulating internal demand that will help in pushing the economy to a higher growth path.

I would particularly like to congratulate the finance minister for proposing a carrot-and-stick approach for skill development programmes. For a nation hungry to reap its demographic dividend,our skill sets are woefully below standard. The financial incentive planned for successful completion of training courses offered by National Skill Development Corporation would go a long way in upgrading skill sets of many.

However,I feel the move to re-classify FII and FDI as per the quantum of stake in a company is likely to create complications.

One major area of disappointment is the overlooking of the NBFC sector. While the asset financing and infrastructure financing NBFCs are playing a crucial role in catering to the credit needs of numerous small and medium players in the infrastructure sector,our concerns remain unaddressed. We had made detailed representations to the finance ministry. However,I hope the ministry would take those up in due course.

Personally,I will have to pay more taxes,due to additional surcharge on persons having higher income. The increase in surcharge on domestic companies whose taxable income exceeds Rs 10 crore and also increase in surcharge on dividend distribution tax could have been avoided. Nevertheless,I would like to commend the finance minister on his progressive and optimistic outlook.