With respect to the transport sector, the Union Budget dealt mostly with investments in road and rail.
Experts said more allocation in road and rail projects — by permitting tax-free infrastructure bonds and conversion of excise duty on petrol and diesel partly into road cess to fund investment in roads — is great for boosting infrastructure.
Some industry sources said there could have been clear budgetary allocations for such projects instead of merely announcing tax-free bonds.
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But such bonds will help in attracting private players as investors in projects, said N.S. Srinivasan, former director, National Transportation Planning and Research Centre.
“Raising capital is a huge challenge here. No businessman will have the interest to invest unless there is an incentive,” he said.
Investments aside, increase in transport allowance exemption from Rs. 800 to Rs. 1,600 is something commuters could be glad about, said R. Balasubramanian, former director of Central Institute of Road Transport.
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Some said increased allocation on roads is a welcome move but there are other disappointments.
“There is nothing for public transport; there is no mention of the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) in the announcements made so far. It is disappointing,” said Arvind Mahajan, partner and head of infrastructure and government services at KPMG, India.