'Good budget' that will help revive economy: Lord Swraj Paul

Leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul on Saturday praised the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, saying it is a "good Budget" that will go a long way to boost the Indian economy.

Sitharaman presented the Budget for the 2020-21 financial year before Parliament on Saturday and laid out a wide-ranging plan to revive the growth rate.

The finance minister announced cuts in personal income tax, extended tax benefits for affordable housing and gave relief to companies on payment of dividend in the Union Budget as the government looked to boost consumption to bring the economy out of the worst slowdown in 11 years.

Paul, the London-based Caparo Group chief, said the package of reduced taxes and safeguarding savings would go a long way towards confidence building measures.

"It is a good, above A level Budget," he said.

"The efforts made on reducing taxes and other encouraging steps will go a long way towards fixing the problems faced by the Indian economy. The measures related to the banking industry are a positive step towards helping all sections of society," Paul said.

Presenting her second budget in Parliament, Sitharaman said the 2020-21 Budget was aimed at boosting incomes and enhancing purchasing power, stressing that the economy's fundamentals were strong and inflation was well contained.

Sitharaman, who cut tax paid by companies to its lowest in September last year, proposed new tax slabs of 15 per cent and 25 per cent in addition to the existing 10 per cent, 20 per cent and 30 per cent. The new slabs would be for individuals not availing certain specified deductions or exemptions.