Refraining from tinkering with tax and duty rates in the interim Budget, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday made a huge allocation of Rs 30,100 crore to government's flagship rural employment programme and many other schemes in a bid to counter the economic recession.
Refraining from tinkering with tax and duty rates in the interim Budget, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday made a huge allocation of Rs 30,100 crore to government's flagship rural employment programme and many other schemes in a bid to counter the economic recession.
Despite the fact that revised estimates for tax collections during 2008-09 is projected at Rs 627,949 crore as against the budget estimate of Rs 687,715 crore, the minister resisted the temptation of giving sops since it is an interim budget with General Elections just a few months away.
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In view of the fact that security environment has deteriorated considerably with the Mumbai terror attacks giving an entirely new dimension to cross-border terrorism, the Budget increased the allocation for defence to Rs 141,703 crore including Rs 54,824 crore capital expenditure.
Aiming at enhancing expenditure on schemes to provide employment and lift the economy, the interim Budget for 2009-10 has planned a total expenditure of Rs 953,231 crore comprising Rs 285,149 crore in plan and Rs 668,082 crore in non-plan spending.
To counter the negative impact on exports due to the global economic crisis, the interest subvention of two per cent on pre and post shipment for certain employment sectors is proposed to be extended.
Interim budget a non-event: India Inc
India Inc on Monday gave a thumbs down to the interim budget 2009-10, proposed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, saying it is a non-event and more of a political statement.
"It was completely (a) non-event. It was (more a) political statement than (an) interim budget. There was nothing for any sector, forget about real estate," Parsvnath Developers chairman Pradeep Jain said.
Expressing similar sentiments, Kotak Mahindra Bank Managing Director Uday Kotak said, "Acting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has stuck to what is good convention."
TCS ED and CFO S Mahalingam said there were two stimulus packages given in the past couple of months and they were going to stay as they were. "I am disappointed," he added.
Stating that the government did not have much of a choice, Hinduja Group CFO Prabal Banerjee said: "They did what they could best do."
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