Budget 2019: Let us hope Indian team will take on from where FM left us

It starts off with a glorious cover drive. It was a different kind of budget speech from India’s first woman FM and one that will resonate all over the country for its sheer diversity. The FM spent considerable time setting the context for the budget with a series of rousing announcements that showcased the strides the country has taken in the past few years.  In doing so, Ms Sitharaman also emphasised the direction that PM Modi and his new government intends to take over the coming years. We also got to see a determined and ambitious FM in Ms Sitharaman who intends to carry on the excellent work her predecessor had achieved. 

The next ball was a magnificent pull shot. While the speech differed in terms of the absence of traditional pronouncements of outlays on sectors like defence, agriculture and farm sector, it stood out for the scale of its targets. The concept of One nation One grid by integrating gas, highway, airways, water and power is a game-changing knock. Large-scale investment in Railways to the tune of Rs 50 trillion over the next decade, infusion of funds into the financial services sector, disinvestment target of Rs 1.05 trillion and reforms in tax administration are progressive and will address the biggest structural issues being faced today. 

The intent to kick-start the investment cycle and to reform labour laws are likely to revive the investor sentiment in the country. 

It was then followed by a fine leg glance. Played beautifully with a lot of style, the FM talked about several initiatives for rural India which included electrification and housing, water and sanitation. The need to make education more focussed on enabling employment abroad is a novel idea that should make India a hub for good quality talent. Also on the cards is a Rs 100 trillion allocation for housing infrastructure over the next ten years.  
 

Next, a square cut that beat the fielder at point and went straight to the boundary. The budget had the colour and diversity of the crowd-sourcing project it set out to be and the FM was quick to thank the large number of participants who logged in with ideas and suggestions. 

The FM shed the accountant role and adopted the role of a nation builder as she side-stepped many of the routine budget speech agendas including the fiscal deficit, which was announced after she commended the budget to the house.       

There had to be a dot ball somewhere and that came next. Increased taxes for high income individuals and the reduction in shareholding threshold were unexpected. 

Besides the higher tax outgo on those already in the highest tax bracket, it will also pose a lot of difficulty to implement the reduction in shareholding. The increase in petrol and diesel prices was also taken with some amount of disdain largely because everyone was looking forward to more sops. 

The last ball was a classic on drive which was applauded even by the opposition. The FM went futuristic with electric vehicles, digital, e-assessments and a slew of measures that would improve ease of doing business as well as ease of living. The steps to improve tax administration are welcome as also the legacy GST dispute resolution mechanism. Most of the issues faced by start-up and angel investors have been addressed which should pave the way for more investments in new ventures.  

Let us hope the Indian team will take on from where the FM left us and bring the cup home!

The writer is chairman of RPG Group