The key theme for the Union Budget is clearly sustainable growth. The Budget provides significant direction towards “inclusive growth”, addressing bottlenecks that impede investment and focusing on infrastructure and the farm and rural sector as growth accelerators for crystallising 4 per cent agriculture and 9 per cent industry growth.
By increasing the allocation on the government’s flagship programmes such as Bharat Nirman by 45 per cent and NREGA by a whopping Rs 39,100 crore, a 144 per cent increase, the government has underscored its commitment to “inclusive growth” and by increasing farm credit flow to Rs 325,000 crore and infrastructure allocation accelerated irrigation expenditure, the government has signaled its willingness to step up and step in.
By increasing the fiscal deficit target to 6.8% for FY10 and subsidy outlay by 10% over the interim budget, the government has sent out a strong signal that it will spend.
With removal of surcharge on personal income, rationalization of FBT, significant employment generation opportunities in agriculture, rural and infrastructure – there will be considerable, disposable income capacity for stimulating consumption which will further augment the economic momentum.
