Budget with BS: 'We are in one of the biggest market booms', says Motilal Oswal's Raamdeo Agrawal

Latest updates: Catch all the updates on the analysis of the Union Budget for FY25 here

5:13 PM

We have grown from about 30 million tax payers a decade ago to about 82 million tax payers now: TV Somanathan

5:13 PM

The problem is that there are professional people who are under reporting incomes: TV Somanathan

On income tax filers, TV Somanathan said, "I think the steps that we have taken are producing results. The problem is that there are professional people who are under reporting incomes."

5:10 PM

'There has been a major structural improvement in the petroleum subsidy in the last years'

"Subsidy challenge has not gone away. There has been  a major structural improvement in the petroleum subsidy in the last years," says TV Somanathan.

5:09 PM

Food subsidy to go up as MSP goes up: TV Somanathan

"There is no room for efficiency improvements in our food subsidy. It will go up as MSP goes up," says TV Somanathan.

5:01 PM

Intend to cut debt-to-GDP ratio, says Finance Secretary TV Somanathan

On the fiscal deficit, the finance secretary said that the government has a choice between a beautiful number which no one follows and a flexible number which everyone follows. The government does not want to commit to a number which it cannot achieve, he stated.

4:56 PM

Want firms to take people that they would not normally take without the subsidy, says TV Somanathan

"Ministry of Corporate Affairs will sit with the top 500 companies which account for two-thirds of the CSR expenditure. We have a big program on training industrial skills. Internships can happen with the suppliers or value chain partners of these top 500 companies. It will cost us Rs 60,000 crore. Of this, Rs 30,000 crore will come from states," TV Somanathan said. We want firms to take people that they would not normally take without the subsidy, the finance secretary added.

4:45 PM

We want Indian style polity and Chinese style growth, says TV Somanathan

"We want Indian style polity and Chinese style growth.  Any person who hires a person who was not previously employed in the formal sector will get the subsidy. The cloud is that we have skill gap. The silver lining is that we also seem to have a problem where industry says that we can't find people to give jobs to," says TV Somanathan.

4:41 PM

PM Modi was keen on specifically targeting unemployment, says TV Somanathan

"There is universal agreement that we need to do something about employment.  This is a federal democracy. Many of the things cannot be overseen by the union. There are limits when it comes to labour, skilling and education. Most of it falls in the state government. PM Modi was keen on doing very specific on employment. This is a response on the policy direction. Time will tell how well it does. Conversations with the industry indicates that if you can't fix all labour issues, let's take it as a handicap and try to neutralise it through fiscal incentives", TV Somanathan said at the Budget with BS event.

 

4:36 PM

There is a clear message on continued emphasis on macroeconomic stability, says TV Somanathan

"What this budget tries to do is two things. One, continue what is good, and two, start more good things. In terms of fiscal consolidation, it signals continuity on an issue where continuity was important, especially in a changed political context. However, there is a clear message on continued emphasis on macroeconomic stability. It is something that we are setting out for Indian citizens, market participants, and people outside India, as well as for the government's own internal decision-making," Finance Secretary TV Somanathan said.

 

4:33 PM

Budget shows the agenda govt has set for itself for next 5 yrs, says TV Somanathan

"Budget speeches are not as is imagined by bureaucrats. They are political documents and set out the agenda of the govt. This shows the agenda that the govt has set for itself for the next 5 years,"  TV Somanathan, finance secretary, Ministry of Finance said.

4:26 PM

There are constraints to what the govt can do on fiscal consolidation, says Sajjid Chinoy

"I think we have to first appreciate that we're on a fiscal consolidation path and there are constraints to what the government can do",  Sajjid Chinoy said. "I completely agree over a decade, India needs more expenditures given where we are on health, education, skilling, green transition, perhaps on defense. And we've all agreed that deficits may have to come down to varying degrees," he added.

4:21 PM

We need to increase revenue; GST needs to rise way higher: Pranjul Bhandari

"We need to increase revenue. In my analysis, in both FY11 and FY25 estimates fiscal deficit is 4.9% of GDP. We have the 1% room to invest in healthcare and education. It is revenue which we really need to fix. Personal tax revenues are way higher than corporate tax. GST needs to rise way higher. We need tax reform. One thing missing from the Budget was on non-tax revenues like privatisation. We are way lower there than we were in FY11," Pranjul Bhandari said. 

4:19 PM

Indian economy is stuck at pushing per capita income higher, says Indranil Pan, chief economist, Yes Bank

The Budget has done enough to push the demand ahead, said Indranil Pan. If we have to elevate ourselves it has to come from per capita income where we suffer, Pan added.

4:05 PM

This is an economist's budget, says Samiran Chakraborty, MD, Citigroup

Budget is focusing more on MSMEs because they are employment creators, Samiran Chakraborty said today. Market people don't appreciate reforms as much as economists. This is an economist's budget, Chakraborty added.

4:00 PM

Coming five years will be about developing human capital, says Samiran Chakraborty, MD, Citigroup

"The first five years was about formalisation of the economy, the next five was about infrastructure, the coming five years will be about developing human capital," Samiran Chakraborty said today.