The Union Budget 2014 has been presented by a Government, which has been in office just six weeks. In this short period of time, the Government has done a commendable job. I would like to term the budget sensible in which the Finance Minister has not succumbed to populist measures and at the same time, has been sensitive to the needs of the business. The Budget lays out a road map for the economic growth to accelerate to 7-8 per cent over the next three-four years, while talking about reigning in inflation and taming the fiscal deficit from 4.5 per cent to 4.1 per cent. Enhancing of FDI caps in select sectors is also an indicator that the Government wants to speed up investments into the country, while bringing in new technologies at the same time.

The proposed ‘expenditure commission’ to optimise and rationalise Government spending is a move that will not only help in fiscal consolidation but also go a long way in re-directing Government expenditure towards more productive avenues. This, along with the proposal of an integrated e-business portal for encouraging transparency in Government projects, is a clear indication of the Government’s intent towards improving governance. While the Government has provided some relief via removal of service tax on disposal of bio-medical waste, such exemption has not been provided for clinical trials, which is much needed to provide a fillip to the activity.

The Finance Minister’s thrust on overall infrastructure development such as building waterways, airports, IIMs, AIIMs, drug testing laboratories, 15 model rural health research centres, and 12 more Government medical colleges with dental facilities, all suggest that it has a long-term vision for nation building. These and some other proposals such as ‘skill India’ clearly indicate that the new Government has done its homework on what national needs are and is willing to think out of the box and generate new ideas to take the nation to the next level of development.

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