Bankers said the Union Budget is a balanced one as it maintains fiscal prudence for the medium-term and also offers more capital spending to support the sagging growth.
The Budget has pegged fiscal deficit at 3.8 per cent for the current fiscal and 3.5 per cent for the next, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while presenting the first full budget of the Modi Government’s second term.
Bankers said given the deepening slowdown, the move was much needed and it will boost Government spending to support economic growth.
Welcoming the budget, State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Rajnish Kumar said the proposals will ensure better infrastructure with better connectivity on one hand and improved healthcare and better access to education on the other and both will have long lasting impacts.
“The new income tax regime without exemptions is a move to a regime of a simplified and clutter-free taxation,” he said, adding the five-fold hike in deposit insurance limit to Rs 5 lakh was long overdue. He also said the relaxation in the Sarfaesi norms for NBFCs will lead to better recovery and borrower discipline in this sector.