Should be commended on sticking to fiscal discipline

Sunil Sharma, Chief Investment Officer, Sanctum Wealth Management: The emphasis was expected on agriculture and rural, and that was the core focus of the budget.  One of the fears that market participants had going into the budget was a populist budget laden with sops and freebies.  The government resisted the temptation to go down this route and should be lauded for that.  Instead, the government chose programs targeted at enabling farmer productivity, raising agriculture product prices and increasing farmer income.

On LTCG tax, the government chose to rationalise tax structures across asset classes.  Given the strong inflows the equity markets have witnessed, the government made a rational decision to make tax structures uniform across various investments.  Equities enjoyed a tax advantage relative to fixed income and other asset classes.   India now joins other world markets in instituting a 10 per cent tax on equities.  So it's an advantage that was available to domestic investors that is no longer in place.

The government should be commended on sticking to fiscal discipline.  While a small amount of slippage did occur, the larger point is that populist measures have been avoided, and all initiatives are centered around development, growth and enabling the rural poor towards a higher income and a better quality of life.  The other notable point was the reduction in corporate tax rates for MSMEs.  MSMEs are the engine that drive the economy.  This will help free up earnings and capital for investment was a positive out of the budget.