SALIENT POINTS
- Big boost to Public Capital Expenditure & Infrastructure with a 33% increase
- Combined with a very disciplined Fiscal Consolidation Path
- Consumption – both rural and urban given a fillip, urban with positive personal taxation measures
- Tourism boost with airports, rail stations amongst many other measures being given prominence– this sector has a beneficial multiplier effect
- Railways given healthy allocation
- No tinkering in capital gains taxation which could have been a negative factor
- Private Capex is also likely to increase – corporates, and banks have good balance sheets
- Continued emphasis on ease of doing business
- Big prioritization to digital infrastructure and green economy which are sunrise sectors and could have a tremendous beneficial effect in the next decade.
Impact on Economy
India continues to remain a bright spot, especially with the rest of the world expected to slow down. These policies facilitate India to have a sustainable structural growth of 6-8% over the next few years.
Impact on Markets
The Budget is positive for the markets. Initially, the indices went up by almost 2% followed by selling. Adani is an important negative factor and today itself, Adani Enterprises has gone down by a stupendous 28%. The negative sentiment is likely to persist for some time. However, the markets, since they are intimately connected to economic growth, will perform well in the medium term. Attractive sectors are those which are connected to the domestic economy and include banking, capital goods, infrastructure, and hotels.
Overall, our recommendation to allocate a significant percentage to Equity in a diversified way for long-term goals remains intact.
