ABudget for the aam-aadmi. An excellent Budget which will go a long way in sustained 9% plus GDP growth. There is a strong emphasis on infrastructure, rural, agriculture, education, health, defence and manufacturing sector.
This will fuel consumerism. Corporate sector stands to gain from this budget, since the overall direction for the economy is growth-oriented and positive.
A conducive tax policy for building people, strengthening rural economy and enhancing competitiveness are the key focus areas, which got priority in this Budget.
A change in I-T slab and exemption for all IT assesses from Rs 1.10 lakh to Rs 1.50 lakh is a welcome step. I was anticipating some exemptions in fringe benefit tax. Guest houses exempted from FBT is a step towards this.
A five-year tax holiday for setting up of hospitals in tier II and tier III regions is essential for the spread of hospitals across the country. There is great relief to farmers on account of waiver of agricultural loans. I was expecting changes in corporate income tax. However, reductions in General Centvat and excise duty will boost economy further. A step towards Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, midday meal scheme and secondary education scheme are indicative of thrust areas on the government agenda.
The Budget envisages massive outlays in agriculture and allied sectors, education, healthcare and infrastructure.
The FM has expectedly addressed the burning issue of indebtedness of the Indian farmer.
And predictably, with the general elections looming, he has gone beyond the recommendations of the Dr Radhakrishnan Committee by providing debt waiver to small and marginal farmers.
The downside of this complete waiver to the tune of Rs.60,000 crore is that it isn't a 'complete' solution to the problem.
For one, it doesn't address the indebtedness of the majority of farmers as more than half of them do not have access to bank credit. Also, it may discourage fresh lending to the farm sector. Building India means building people.
So, skills, re-training the youth and the workforce have to be the top priority of any government. With India poised to reap the demographic dividend, the FM's proposal to launch knowledge and technology development programmes on a mission mode to cover the whole country is a promising start. This will facilitate the transformation of the Indian economy that's based largely on labour arbitrage to one based on skills and knowledge.
However, given that nearly 1.20 lakh students leave for studies overseas every year, India loses about Rs.50,000 crore p.a. of forex on higher education.
I believe the FM should have gone in for deregulation of higher and technical education.
On the taxes front, the FM's proposals have been fairly forward-looking. Though there has been no change in peak rates in customs duty, the reduction in duties on project imports and convergence products by 2.5% and 5% respectively are all positives from an industry perspective. Likewise, the halving of excise duty on pharmaceutical products to 8%.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/financialexpress/20080301/r_t_fe_bs_budget08/tbs-budget-for-the-aam-aadmi-will-spur-9-7435665.html
This will fuel consumerism. Corporate sector stands to gain from this budget, since the overall direction for the economy is growth-oriented and positive.
A conducive tax policy for building people, strengthening rural economy and enhancing competitiveness are the key focus areas, which got priority in this Budget.
A change in I-T slab and exemption for all IT assesses from Rs 1.10 lakh to Rs 1.50 lakh is a welcome step. I was anticipating some exemptions in fringe benefit tax. Guest houses exempted from FBT is a step towards this.
A five-year tax holiday for setting up of hospitals in tier II and tier III regions is essential for the spread of hospitals across the country. There is great relief to farmers on account of waiver of agricultural loans. I was expecting changes in corporate income tax. However, reductions in General Centvat and excise duty will boost economy further. A step towards Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, midday meal scheme and secondary education scheme are indicative of thrust areas on the government agenda.
The Budget envisages massive outlays in agriculture and allied sectors, education, healthcare and infrastructure.
The FM has expectedly addressed the burning issue of indebtedness of the Indian farmer.
And predictably, with the general elections looming, he has gone beyond the recommendations of the Dr Radhakrishnan Committee by providing debt waiver to small and marginal farmers.
The downside of this complete waiver to the tune of Rs.60,000 crore is that it isn't a 'complete' solution to the problem.
For one, it doesn't address the indebtedness of the majority of farmers as more than half of them do not have access to bank credit. Also, it may discourage fresh lending to the farm sector. Building India means building people.
So, skills, re-training the youth and the workforce have to be the top priority of any government. With India poised to reap the demographic dividend, the FM's proposal to launch knowledge and technology development programmes on a mission mode to cover the whole country is a promising start. This will facilitate the transformation of the Indian economy that's based largely on labour arbitrage to one based on skills and knowledge.
However, given that nearly 1.20 lakh students leave for studies overseas every year, India loses about Rs.50,000 crore p.a. of forex on higher education.
I believe the FM should have gone in for deregulation of higher and technical education.
On the taxes front, the FM's proposals have been fairly forward-looking. Though there has been no change in peak rates in customs duty, the reduction in duties on project imports and convergence products by 2.5% and 5% respectively are all positives from an industry perspective. Likewise, the halving of excise duty on pharmaceutical products to 8%.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/financialexpress/20080301/r_t_fe_bs_budget08/tbs-budget-for-the-aam-aadmi-will-spur-9-7435665.html
