The key now lies in execution

COMMENT/ Neeraj Swaroop, Regional Chief Executive, India and South Asia, Standard Chartered

With an eye on being an enabler, the government has focused on more equitable development, more social spends, increasing the people’s investment and purchasing power, and improving the investment environment by judicious management of its finances.

A positive surprise was the announcement pertaining to new banking licenses. The pie is indeed getting larger with the economy poised to grow at 7-10 per cent rates in the years ahead.

Moves such as cutting taxes increase the spending and investing power of the salaried class, whereas increased spends on a variety of social schemes will boost the spending power of the rural sector.

The move to restore excise duties will also help achieve fiscal prudence, as will other tax reform proposals. The resultant increases in prices of some goods (such as fuel) could have a temporary inflationary impact. But over the longer run, it will have a positive impact on the exchequer.

The Budget contains a plethora of initiatives that can help create a more enabling environment for sustained economic growth. The key now lies in execution.