Balanced, overall

It is a balanced Budget covering all segments of society and focussing on channelising savings into investments. The measures proposed for checking black money are welcome. Though the investments budgeted in infrastructure are not very high, the administrative improvements proposed such as single window approval should improve investor sentiments. Extending the Visa On Arrival facility for more countries needs to be implemented cautiously considering the threats to national security from different quarters.

The income tax exemption limit for individuals could have been increased considering that real income has been decreasing due to inflation. On the other hand, the government seems to be moving towards lower corporate tax. Considering that corporates have so many ways of tax planning, the reduction in corporate tax should not be offered on a platter. Companies with imports of over 50 per cent of raw material should continue to be taxed at a higher slab. This will also give credence to ‘Make in India’.

M Raghuraman

Mumbai

The BJP government’s first full-time budget seems to attack the real issues concerning the nation and should be welcomed. It has something for everybody: increased transport allowance and health premium for individuals, gold monetising, huge allocation for rural development and infrastructure, 100 per cent tax exemption for Ganga cleaning and Swachh Bharat efforts, IIT for Karnataka and upgrading the Dhanbad mines institute to IIT level, AIIMS for Andhra, Tamil Nadu, J&K.

The budget proposes severe punishment for tax evaders and black money holders. This shows the seriousness of the government It is the foundation for a stable economy. Even States ruled by other parties have got good news. Another laudable feature is the effort to educate unemployed youths of minority communities. Definitely the budget reflects the Prime Minister’s declaration that he is only for the religion of the Indian nation and not anything else, and gives priority to development issues. It is heartening to note that populism has not been given priority but only real growth issues.

VS Ganeshan

Bengaluru

Surprising survey revelation

According to the Economic Survey report, projects stalled due to various reasons like clearing of licensing or lack of promoter interest include 80 in the electricity sector. Of these, 75 relate to generation and five to distribution. This is surprising. Knowing fully well that the country is in dire shortage of power, the lacklustre approach of the government in clearing these projects is inexcusable. Even now it is not too late. The government should see that public investment may be needed to be augmented. The government needs to have a clear policy regarding stalled infrastructure projects and find ways to provide what is necessary to get them restarted.

TSN Rao

Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh

First things first

The Economic Survey notes that the regulatory framework on GM crops needs a rethink. With a lacklustre performance in the agricultural sector where the survey pegged GDP growth in agriculture at 1.1 per cent for 2014-15, and the projected grain production (second advance estimate) dropping from 265.6 mt (2014-15) to 257.1 mt (2015-16), a drop of more than 3.2 per cent, there will be a clamour from the proponents of GM crops to go with them in the name of “food security”. The government is also thinking along these lines.

There are crops like Bt mustard (which is mired in much patent controversy), Bt brinjal (which should never have been subjected to genetic modification because of its genetic origin in the Indian subcontinent), Bt maize and Bt rice (awaiting the nod for field trials). There is much that’s wanting in our bio-safety protocols. Unless these basic issues are addressed in a foolproof manner by the concerned authorities, India might be unwittingly endangering millions of lives. There is sufficient conventional technology available on the shelf to address the woes of Indian farmers. The real bottleneck relates to its effective implementation.

KP Prabhakaran Nair

Email

Missed opportunity

The Prime Minister has said that he has had a thousand means to shut the mouths of fringe elements, but he cannot be expected to waste time responding to these statements. What is ‘waste of time’? Some Hindutva elements have been indulging in hate speeches, vandalism of churches, and so on, breaching the principles of the Constitution which Modi considers a holy book. The real executive of the country kept mum on these incidents gives credence to the perception that the BJP is no different from the RSS as far as religious matters are concerned. In fact, Modi missed a golden opportunity to prove his as well as the government’s secular credentials.

S Ramakrishnasayee

Ranipet, Tamil Nadu

The FM has followed the well trodden path of his predecessors. He has found the common man the easiest target to squeeze easy revenue from. Service tax will go up from 12.36 per cent to 14 per cent.The levy was first introduced in 1994. Whereas corporate tax has been reduced from 30 per cent to 25 per cent. He has found it prudent not to push excise rates.        In other words the hapless consumer would be underwriting the government's largesse to corporate India. All FMs are sanguine, that after all, this burden will be shared across millions of service tax payers. He must spare a thought for consumers who have paid their income tax already. The government must not repeatedly succumb to the temptation of milking the common consumer. Without him there can be no economic activity.

R Narayanan

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

The budget is intended to be a foundation to elevate India as an  economic superpower.  But from the NRI perspective, it is very disappointing. The FM did not even mention NRIs in his speech. He announced a amendment in FEMA, and we hope it will give some relief to NRIs. The gold deposit scheme will be useful for NRIs, as also tax-free infrastructure bonds.

KV Shamsudheen

Dubai

Shocking state

It is bewildering news that two-thirds the population of Bihar lacks electricity, according to a World Bank report. Per capita consumption of 144 KW against the national average of 917 KW says a lot about the non-availability of electricity at affordable rates. To cap it all, aggregate technical and commercial losses in power there are said to be the highest in the country. This speaks poorly of the maintenance in the generation and distribution of electrical energy. It is pathetic that 66 per cent of people are living in the dark ages even now.

The World Bank is said to have asked the State government to step up generation capacity and ramp up investment in transmission and distribution. Economic and industrial development has received a severe beating thanks to this.

KV Seetharamaiah

Hassan, Karnataka

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