Home » Indian Budget » Indian Budget 2009-10 » Budget Views from Experts

The Union Budget presented by the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has failed to meet the expectations of different stratas of society. Amidst various disappointments, there are few plans that have been appreciated and welcomed by the people nationwide. Following are some of the reactions on the Budget 2009-10.

“The STPI extension by a year is not enough for mid-cap IT companies and the tax outgo will increase because of MAT hike. However, the increase in the MAT offset period is a good move. And the FBT abolition will benefit immensely. Health care sector has been ignored. We had been expecting a boost for the health care infrastructure, but nothing has been said. Budget was mute. We are disappointed”. - Shivinder Singh, Fortis

“'The excise duty cuts may not directly help FMCG companies like us since we have set up manufacturing facilities in excise-free zones. But it will certainly help other sectors like automobiles and offer the right fiscal stimuli to fuel consumption and business.” - Adi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Group

“Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's efforts to revive the economy back to nine per cent (growth) is in the right direction”. - Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank

“I am happy on behalf of the whole industry that Fringe Benefit Tax has been abolished, but I am a little bit unhappy about MAT”. - Rahul Bajaj, Chairman and Managing Director, Bajaj Group

“This was always there. It is not a new benefit. We are very happy about the clarification as it ends the ambiguity”. - P M S Prasad, President and CEO (Oil & Gas), RIL.

“The budget has a huge focus on rural area. It is definitely beneficial for us. All companies which have a rural exposure will benefit from this budget”. - Manoj Kohli, CEO, Bharti Airtel

“The budget is on expected lines. The fiscal deficit is a little above the comfort level and the government spending is expected to kick start the Indian economy”. - C Rangarajan, Rajya Sabha MP and noted economist

“Full marks to Pranab. This is a very good budget, and he has recognised that India will need a growth rate of 6 to 7 percent to lift up its poor - anything below that mark will lead to greater poverty”. - Swraj Paul, Chairman, Caparo Group

“In these trying times, the finance minister has placed a budget that is extremely well crafted, provides fresh stimulus for growth, a special focus on social sectors and the promise of a more inclusive future”. - Y C Deveshwar, Chairman, ITC

“The budget has addressed the needs of three key sectors - agriculture, small & medium enterprises and exports. The 1% additional interest subvention for farmers who repay their dues in time, will improve banks' recovery of farm loans. The proposals related to infrastructure financing is welcome. But I would like to mention that 82% of core sector financing comes from banks alone. Overall, I would say its a good budget as it emphasises on key areas like agriculture and social sector. The proposal to scrap the controversial and complex fringe benefit tax is a welcome move”. - SK Goel, CMD, UCO Bank

“Finance minister has tried to do a balancing act between boosting economic growth, generating demand and at the same time trying to benefit the poor and middle class. Though a lot of expenditure schemes have been announced, avenues for revenue generation has still not been clearly outlined. The fiscal deficit touching 6.8% of GDP is a matter of concern. Overall, I feel, the budget augurs well for core industries like cement, steel and iron. Abolition of FBT - a long standing demand of the industry, is a positive sign, but raising of MAT from 10% to 15% will dent the bottom line”. - Aditya V Agarwal, Group Director, EMAMI

“The budget is very much on the lines of expectations. We are not realigning out investment strategy. The market disappointment basically come from the size of fiscal deficit that is now pegged at 6.8% for FY10 fiscal deficit of GDP as against the target of 5.5%”. - Sanjay Sinha, DBS Cholamandalam

“Budget is on the expected lines and the industry has not been penalised although we are disappointed that the corporate tax has not been changed”. - Sunil Mittal, President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

“The cuts in excise and service tax will provide the support for the slowing industry, but the repo and reverse repo rates should be reduced by 50 bps with a similar reduction in CRR. This will not only provide the necessary boost to investment, but also trigger demand in automobiles and housing sectors.” - Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII

“The Indian economy is going through a rough patch and requires support. These measures would help the domestic economy and keep it moving forward, especially at a time when the external markets are in a bad shape.” - Harish Pati Singhania, President, FICCI

“We hope that next budget, which will be presented by the newly-elected government, will have the measures that facilitate export-competitiveness and sustain the growth momentum." - Suresh Senapaty, CFO, Wipro Tech.

"It was completely (a) non-event. It was (more a) political statement than (an) interim budget. There was nothing for any sector, forget about real estate." - Pradeep Jain, Chairman, Parsvnath Developers

"There were two stimulus packages given in the past couple of months and they were going to stay as they were. I am disappointed." - S. Mahalingam, Executive Director, TCS

"The budget was along expected lines. CII is keen to see an increase in the funds flowing into infrastructure projects and the social sector. While the former will have a multiplier effect on the economy, the latter will put money into the hands of the people. Both are required to help the economy get out of the current economic stagnation." - Venu Srinivasan, President-Designate, CII

"The budget was along expected lines. CII is keen to see an increase in the funds flowing into infrastructure projects and the social sector. While the former will have a multiplier effect on the economy, the latter will put money into the hands of the people. Both are required to help the economy get out of the current economic stagnation." - Preetha Reddy, MD, Apollo Hospitals

"The interim budget was unexciting."I would have expected some announcements that would have stimulated consumer confidence and spending, particularly when the Government claims that banks have enough liquidity." - Vijay Mallya, Chairman, UB group

"It is a practical and pragmatic budget considering the problems like Kargil and Orissa cyclone that the government had to face." - Girish Paranjpe, Corporate Vice-president, Finance, Wipro Technologies

"I am disappointed with the budget. The shipping & shipbuilding industry generates a lot of revenues & employment. But it finds no mention of the sector in the budget." - PC Kapoor, Bharati Shipyard