Budget Gab

In what could be P.C’ last for the next few years, he’s kept his Gab on the whole positive, sans the Rs.60, 000 Cr. Drubbing he’s given to his PSU Banks.

My favorites:

1. Hell with other tax chops – my favorite is the Rs. 50 Crore grant for the Tiger Reserve force :) Yayy... these beauties deserve more.

2. Although I detest to imagining what our roads might look like, the excise duty cut on the Motor segment is welcome. Apart from a little boost to domestic consumption, I think it will give a good fillip to our export competitiveness.

3. We can breathe easy for the first Rs.1.5 Lacs… Ummm.. four thousand bucks..

4. Women power re-enforced with a cool tax break for the first Rs. 1.85 L

5. Removal of dividend distribution taxation b/w subsidiary and holding cos.

What he could have done:

1. Ease the FBT mess for companies by exemption a little more services

2. That he’s increased Short Term capital gains to 15%, he very well could have increased the 80-C investment options to Rs.150,000

3. Rs.44 Crores ain’t enough to attract talent to our defense forces. He ought to have increased marketing for recruitment on this sphere. I hope the next pay commission does more for the defense forces.

4. While a lot of investments been promised for Agriculture he should have encouraged lending for Modernization of Agri. India’s agri productivity has been diminishing over the years and apart from power and fertilizer subsidies, more needs to be done on the mechanization front. I am on purpose not commenting on the whopping Rs.60, 000 farmer write off’s due to want of enough facts on the social .

5. Excise on Tobacco’s and liquor ought to have been increased

Lost his mind:

1. Excuse me for sounding blasphemous but Rs.1,000 for modernization of Madarsa’s ? I remember my colleague Chinmayee quoting a bureaucrat from Assam making this demand and I laughed it off. If only I knew what was coming.

2. Infrastructure’s been feeding a huge part of our 9 % growth rates. Nothing for them? The IT and ITeS is in a large way responsible for where we are today. No reference to any breaks for them? While P.C’s been very benevolent with Auto and FMCG this lack of apathy … especially for Infra beats me.