Kotak Mahindra Bank's Shanti Ekambaram calls Union Budget as 'positive'

“The budget was overall positive and reflected the tight balance that the Finance Minister had to maintain. On the one hand, he had to maintain fiscal prudence and continue fiscal consolidation by sticking to the committed fiscal deficit targets of 3.9% and 3.5% in FY’16 and FY’17 respectively and, on the other hand, provide enough resources to allocate to agriculture, rural development, healthcare and infrastructure sectors," Ekambaram said.

"Key beneficiaries have been the agricultural sector and rural India, where spends should give an uplift to the rural economy as well as provide a boost to farm growth. Also, an emphasis on the infrastructure segments of road and railways is much needed for economic growth," she said.

"There are several incentives for Asset Reconstruction Companies, new manufacturing companies and the startups, giving a boost to “Make in India” initiative and promoting the “new entrepreneurship” ecosystem," she said.

"Many small steps for affordable housing have been introduced,including a higher allowance for those staying in rented houses, a rebate for income below five lakhs. All these measures will help in putting more money in the hands of the small tax payers which will give them relief. In general, the thrust of the budget has been to address segments that will provide a boost to the economy, putting more money in the hands of the lower income segments.Overall, the budget is positive for most areas of the economy,” she said.  

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday presented the Union Budget 2016 focusing on rural development and farm and social sector while offering some relief to tax payers as analysts see it as a pro-poor budget with big ideas which is a challenge for the government to implement.