Mixed response to Jaitley's first full year budget

There was amixed response to the first full year budget presentation of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday.

Predictably, those associated with the NDA regime, welcomed the budget proposals as a positive development for the nation and one that was includive in nature. Those opposed naturally picked holes in the various measures announced for implementation. By and large, the response was that the budget is a balanced and fair one.

Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told ANI on Saturday, "We take this budget as the progress of the nation. The budget is trying to involve everyone in the development process. It will have a positive result and impact."

Siddarth Birla, Immediate Past President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) described the budget proposals as balanced.

"It is a balanced budget. For job creation and creators, some relaxations have been made. The budget appears to be encouraging more capital spending. It has also talked about less governance, which I feel, will have a good impact in the long run," Birla told ANI.

Former union ministers and Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Ashwani Kumar predictibly responded in the negative to the budget proposals.

Nath told ANI, "The major thing is the increase in taxation on corporates. This budget has done nothing to increase domestic entrepreneurship."

Ashwani Kumar said, "This budget is nothing more than a jugglery of words. Apart from corporates, nobody has got benefit. For the middle class and lower classes, there are no good provisions."

Market Expert Sunil Shah said in Mumbai, "I think it is a good budget.They (NDA Government) have started implementing the promises. It will lead to a decrease in the number of disputes. The budget is good.

Union Environment and Forests Minister Prakash Javadekar said, "It is a historic budget and is favour of society. The labour classes used to face a lot of problems. The budget is of the power and for the power of the people. It is a social security for everybody.Social security is the essence of a budget."

Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Pappu Yadav said, "Some things are very good in the budget. It is very good for the corporates too.