While no finance minister can propose a "please all" budget, the current proposals have a mix of good and bad. The scrapping of FBT is in right direction. The tax structure, which has been left unchanged, is also understandable.
However, the insurance industry had a lot of expectations like exemptions and benefits for insurance premiums.
The finance minister, to show seriousness of this ritual, could have identified 10 infrastructure projects with timelines for project clearance before the bidding process; few steps to monitor the impact of outlays to rural sector and check to reduce leakages; named at least five PSUs where disinvestment process would have started in four months time; and taken a few concrete steps to reduce the size and hence government expenditure.
Kamesh Goyal, Country Manager, Allianz, and CEO, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance