The Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was described as one that gives fillip to the economy in the long-run and being just 45-day-old, the government could not be expected to do a better job.
It was a tough task to strike the right balance between measures that fuel growth and the much-needed fiscal discipline but the FM fairly managed to do that without particularly antagonizing any section, the speakers opined in a Budget Talk organised by The Hindu-Business Line in association with State Bank of Hyderabad at P.B Siddhartha College of Arts and Science (PBSCAS) on Saturday. Additional Commissioner of Income Tax M.V.S.M. Prasad said drafting the budget for a developing country like India was perhaps the most daunting task as the government would only have estimates (of revenue and expenditure) on whose basis the budget has to be given the final shape. LEPL Projects Director Chowdary T. Chigurupati said that the budget had set its sight on a growth rate of seven to eight per cent over the next five years and gave the requisite direction for achieving it.
It was not a mere adjustment of income and expenditure but FM did well within his limitations, Mr. Chowdary said. Better Castings CEO J.S.R.K. Prasad said the budget was essentially about improving infrastructure, and bringing down the cost of transactions.
A concerted effort had to be made to achieve a higher ease-of-doing-business rank in the global market which should be duly aligned to the human development goals, he asserted. Business Line Deputy Chief of Bureau V. Rishi Kumar moderated a panel discussion later.
Chartered accountant Rajeshwar Kosuri, PBSCAS Director of MBA Department Rajesh Jampala, The Hindu Senior Regional Manager V.V. Raja Rao and others participated.
