New Delhi (TIP)- India Inc welcomed the Interim Budget but regretted the absence of any big bang announcement. Even though the government failed to present the Medium-term Expenditure Framework Statement, which charts the economic trajectory for the next few years, CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said a $7 trillion economy is achievable even before 2030.
FICCI president Anish Shah said the Interim Budget was “a clear and outcome-based continuum towards Viksit Bharat” as it brings together growth, climate and social empowerment while maintaining a careful balance between current investment rate and fiscal discipline.
SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara said the heartening news was that the anticipated tax buoyancy in fiscal 24 excluding the outlier pandemic year was the highest in seven years. The Interim Budget has also laid out reinforced architecture of big possibilities, he said.
Financial analyst Madhavi Arora felt the Interim Budget was short of any big bang announcements, but the policy prerogatives and spirit had not been derailed. PHF Leasing’s CEO Shalya Gupta said it was good to see the government continuing its thrust on the EV sector. “With a robust ecosystem in place, the financing solutions become easier to implement with the risk of default decreasing. We are hoping that in the full Budget to be presented after the elections, the new government will continue with its policy thrust on job creation through opportunities presented by the electric light commercial vehicle segment,” he added.
Bourses unimpressed, close lower on Budget day
The Interim Budget failed to galvanise the stock markets which ended lower on Thursday, Feb 1, as many indices ended the session on a weak note.
The BSE Sensex ended 106.81 points lower at 71,645.30 points and the NSE Nifty also moved in tandem, ending at 21,697.45 points.
Notable exceptions to the weak trend were shares of bank and financial services companies, which underwent a hammering in previous trading sessions. Among the stock that fell during the day were those of Grasim, L&T, Ultratech Cement, Dr Reddy’s and JSW Steel. Apart from banks, some other Nifty gainers were Maruti Suzuki, Power Grid, Cipla, SBI Life and Eicher Motors.
Stocks of companies related to the railways gave up initial gains and ended lower on Thursday, February 1 after the presentation of the Interim Budget. Shares of IRCON International declined 3.69 per cent, Rail Vikas Nigam went lower by 3.49%, Indian Railway Finance Corporation fell by 2.85% and Jupiter Wagons skidded 1.93% on the BSE.