The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Unreasoned hostility
FOR ANY ANGLER, the bait should be worth the catch. That simple condition seems to have been missed by the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India in the formulation they have devised to wheedle foreign banks to buy into select Indian ... More

BUDGET

Some bold innovations
SO MUCH has been said from the minute the Budget has been presented. Any more on the numbers and expenditure allocations (which have their usual share of populism) would only mean diminishing returns. A look, therefore, ... More

Budget: The playmaker's play
The Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, has become the playmaker that he had in mind. He has delivered an acceptable Budget, which has adopted a holistic approach to growth. It has hit the bull's eye by addressing the scope and means of farm livelih oods. It plans to chart a roadmap for farm output diversification. There cannot be a better proof that the government is earnest about leveraging the shift in e-power towards the private sector, says G. Ramachandran. More

One for the consumer
The reduction in peak custom duty will make the final product more affordable. More

Towards political expediency and economic compulsions
The Budget has been steered quite adroitly through the narrow channel of political expediency and economic compulsions. An economist should support any move by the Government to tap into the parallel economy, so long as the measure is rational.It is hoped the Finance Minister would accommodate all the well-directed concerns with no impact on the honest tax-payers. More

Re-starting reforms
THE popularity of the Budget or of the Finance Minister presenting it is inversely proportional to the frequency of interruptions in Parliament. Going by this criterion, the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, has ... More

Abetting greater investment
The massive investment in infrastructure will make India a preferred-investment destination. The importance given to higher education and the establishment of a world-class university at Bangalore will provide long-term competitiveness for India as a knowledge power. More

Step towards tax neutrality
CORPORATE tax rates have been reduced to 33 per cent (including surcharge), which is also the maximum marginal rate that applies to individuals (at the highest slab). With this move, we have effectively achieved tax ... More

A straight bat approach
Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram's budget is a little like gulli cricket — it has stuck to the mid-on and mid-off, defined by compulsions of coalition dharma, the national common minimal programme and the need for fiscal rectit ude. More