Budget makes promises, will it deliver? IIM-A

Students of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad feel that while the Union finance minister P Chidambaram has done a commendable job in providing for growth with a humane face, it remains to be seen whether the pace of reforms could be sustained and the government is able to deliver on its promises.

S Sreekanth, first year post-graduate programme student of IIM-A said, "The main objective of the finance minister appears to be to keep the political allies happy, especially the Left. It has attempted to meet the agenda of the Common Minimum Programme. But from the outlays it is not evident that there has been no significant rise in funds for the rural sector."

He further said that the tax payer has been doled significant deductions by raising income-tax slabs, which seems a good thing for the common man. Further, the new fringe benefit tax require many more clarification, he said.

The Budget has given due importance to the agriculture sector, the best effort made by the central government, said Sreejith Mohan, a student of Agri- Business Management, IIM-A.

He added, "A big hike to horticulture for research, production management and marketing of products again underlines the importance given to the agriculture sector."

While praising the Budget announcements, the students have also shown apprehension about the government's ability to deliver on promises.

Shrijit R Plappally, a student of post-graduate programme of the institute was especially concerned about the infrastructural sector.

But, Ashneer Grover, post-graduate student, believes that the current Budget seeks to speed up the reforms in the infrastructure sector and the emphasis is on rural development.

Grover, said, "There is a clear attempt to increase the tax revenues through increasing the service tax net and bringing in new taxes such as 0.1 per cent tax on cash withdrawals from banks. But unfortunately there is a lack of clarity on the expenditure side.

On the issue of 0.1 per cent tax imposed on cash withdrawal, Bishnu Mittal, another student, said, "This is a step backward in the reform process. Even though the imposition of this tax is done in order to check black money, it must be known that black money does not enter the formal channels of banking."

However, the general opinion about the Budget is that of optimism. Kaustubh Nande, academic associate in communication, IIM-A, has an optimistic outlook towards the Budget. According to him, the Budget, is a step in the right direction.