<b>T N C Rajagopalan:</b> Will this Budget help our trade?

He said the 'exemption raj' and complicated duty rate structure do not make it easy to do business

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has drawn praise for aiming at a fiscal deficit of 3.2 per cent of gross domestic product, beside boosting consumption through more spending on agriculture, rural development and transport infrastructure.

He has also given some income tax relief to the middle class and to small and medium businesses. And, taken initiatives to improve tax compliance, make political funding cleaner, encourage digital transactions and promote affordable housing. These steps might lead to revival of domestic demand but a lot depends on whether export growth also picks up. The chief economic advisor, in his Economic Survey, said for achieving