The Union Budget for 2014-15 has managed to strike a balance between the need to control inflation and drive growth, and made the markets and investors happy, according to Sudip Bandhopadhyay, MD and CEO, Destimoney Securities.

Addressing a panel discussion on the Budget through a video conferencing facility, Bandhopadhyay said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s emphasis on judicious spending and curtailing fiscal deficit to 4.1 per cent is commendable.

At the event organised by Business Line and Rotary Club (Madras North), he said the Government has announced positive measures in three key areas: real estate, power sector and over all infrastructure. Permitting tax pass-through on REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) and easing the limits on FDI in real estate will help bring down costs, enhance liquidity and, thereby, benefit home buyers.

The 10-year tax holiday for power projects going on stream by March 2017 will help expedite projects. The proposals for PPP in roads, the large allocation of ₹37,000 crore to the National Highways Authority and the roadmap for inland waterways development are concrete measures that will help growth, he said.

Anand Radhakrishnan, CIO, Franklin Templeton, said the Budget was a clear statement of intent on encouraging investments. It addressed the disconnect that existed between the previous government and the corporate sector. It has also given firm assurances on issues relating to retrospective taxation and transfer pricing.

Jawahar Vadivelu, Chairman, Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry, felt the Budget could have been “gutsier and bolder” but with just half the year to go it is still an interim Budget. But it has made an important statement on fiscal policy that will help capital formation and economic growth. The focus on infrastructure will help the industry, he said.

G Sundaram, former Commerce Secretary, said the Government has managed to offer something for everybody. There has been no adverse criticism.

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