"Fiscal restraint with welfarism and growth..." CEO, National Stock Exchange of India lauds interim budget

New Delhi [India], February 1 : After Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Interim Budget 2024-25, Ashish Chauhan, CEO of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) said that the interim budget has stuck to the winning formula that the current government has figured out - fiscal restraint with welfarism and growth.
"The interim budget has stuck to the winning formula that I think the current government has figured out: fiscal restraint with welfare and growth...So, overall it is a 10/10 budget. It is just an interim budget; the actual budget will be presented after the election but they want to stick to their winning formula they have figured out over the last 10 years." said Ashish Chauhan, CEO of the National Stock Exchange of India.
Meanwhile, Srivats Ram - Vice Chairman of CII Tamil Nadu State Council and Managing Director of Wheels India Ltd, Chennai, also said that the interim budget has been one about consistency and continuity.
"The interim budget has been one about consistency and continuity. The government has spent a lot of funds towards CapEx on infrastructure projects in the last two budgets...Taxation has not been touched at all...She has also spoken about Viksit Bharat 2047. She has mentioned that in the July budget, there will be a detailed plan related to that. So, we'll have to wait and see that plan before we make a further comment. The interim budget promises continuity and stability which has brought us growth in the last two years..." said Srivats Ram.
Ramachandran Dinesh - President, CII and Chairman, TVS Supply Chain Solutions Ltd said, "...Our recommendation initially was 5.4% (fiscal deficit) but it is 5.1% - it is obviously a very significant step forward. But at the same time, not sacrificing the focus on growth. The CapEx spend has increased by almost 11.1% which is also very good so, the continued focus on infrastructure growth takes place...We have to wait and see regarding the direct and indirect tax proposals - as the Finance Minister has said that it will be taken up only in the final budget...As far as we are concerned, it is a very positive step forward with regard to for having headroom available for growth, considering the fiscal deficit and also the focus on the equitable growth."
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman pegged the fiscal deficit target for 2024-25 at 5.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
In 2023-24, the government pegged the fiscal deficit target for 2023-24 at 5.9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). Today, Sitharaman said that the fiscal deficit of 2023-24 was downwardly revised to 5.8 per cent.
The difference between total revenue and total expenditure of the government is termed as fiscal deficit. It is an indication of the total borrowings that may be needed by the government.
The government intends to bring the fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent of GDP by the financial year 2025-26.
The government proposed to increase capital expenditure outlay by 11.1 per cent to Rs 11.11 lakh crore in 2024-25.
A capital expenditure, or capex, is used to set up long-term physical or fixed assets.
Last year, which was the last full Budget under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's second term, the government proposed to increase capital expenditure outlay by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore in 2023-24, which was estimated to be 3.3 per cent of the GDP.
With this budget presentation, Sitharaman equalled the record set by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who as finance minister, presented five annual budgets and one interim budget between 1959 and 1964.
The Indian economy is projected to grow close to 7 per cent in the financial year 2024-25 which starts this April, said the Ministry of Finance in a review report.
India's economy grew 7.2 per cent in 2022-23 and 8.7 per cent in 2021-22. The Indian economy is expected to grow 7.3 per cent in the current financial year 2023-24, remaining the fastest-growing major economy.