“This is a budget of hope, a wand of positivity,” Says Ratna Mehta

Ratna Mehta, Executive Vice President, Wadhwani Catalyst Fund, Wadhwani Foundation

This is a budget of hope, a wand of positivity. This was a critical budget in the face of exceptionally difficult circumstances. A lot of hopes were pinned on the budget to pull the economy back to normalcy. FM was walking a tight rope of managing the deficits and boosting the economy. But she seems to have saved the day, increased the spending to boost employment and thereby consumption, which is a great move and need of the hour. Also, healthcare needed support where she has increased the allocation significantly. Startups will benefit from the tax exemptions and focus on digitisation, especially the startups in healthcare, logistics, education who will see increased growth opportunities. The corporate sector was spared cess and tax increases which will let the recovery continue undisturbed. To sum up, the budget of hope seems to be doing the right things, now the devil will be in the details and execution.”