The newly announced move during the Budget presentation to involve fresh engineering graduates in urban local bodies is welcome. This move will also go a long way to improve on-ground implementation of projects.
Insurance coverage on deposits has been increased to ₹5 lakh and will give investor confidence a boost.
A number of disinvestments and the proposed IPO of LIC will help keep up government expenditure although the LIC IPO could have been announced earlier.
The 16-point action plan will help horticulture and agriculture and hopefully revive farmers’ fortunes.
Decreased consumption
The restructuring in tax slabs seems like a meek attempt at reduction of taxes as it has been also coupled by a removal of number of exemptions. Deferment of tax incidence on employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) up to five years will help new firms with talent acquisition. The government has proposed a slew of investments on infrastructure and roads but has failed to properly address the shortage of consumption that the country is witnessing.
The relaxation of fiscal deficit to improve Government Fiscal Consumption Expenditure is a positive move and will help revive the economy but the absence of a booster for the realty sector is a missed opportunity. Investors did not see any growth stimulus in the Budget and the stock market fell around 988 points on the day.
(The writer is a student at IIM Shillong.)