Stand-up comedian Atul Khatri's take on best and worst of Budget 2022

The best thing has been the announcement of the national tele mental health programme for mental health counselling, says Khatri

Does the Budget address the distress caused by the pandemic?

Not really. Businesses were expecting a third “booster” shot by way of reduction in direct taxes and that didn’t happen. I guess they have to rely on vaccine companies for booster shots and not the finance minister.

Will this Budget help the economy and create jobs?

It is too early to say and the Budget does not hold much promise of directly creating jobs. But with the e-passport rollout, it will definitely give employment to agents who lurk around passport offices and help you convert your old passport to new ones.

What is the best thing about the Budget? And the worst?

The best thing has been the announcement of the national tele mental health programme for mental health counselling! It was much needed in the context of the pandemic.

The worst has been to levy a 30 per cent tax on income arising out of digital assets but in a way, I am happy about it as I don’t understand cryptocurrency.

Does the Budget make India a better investment destination? 

I don’t know about the Budget but with the hole China has dug themselves into in the last two years the rest of the world should look at India as a better investment decision. However, as stated in the Budget, the elimination of around 75,000 compliances and 1,486 union laws should boost ease of doing business.