Budget time in India!

After the Interim Budget, the General Elections, the resounding victory of the UPA and the promising cabinet that took charge, all eyes were on Mamta Banerjee and Pranab Mukherji. The reason- Railway Budget and Union Budget for 2009. The budget is out, the analysis is done and the general verdict is out. Mamta is largely a winner and Pranab did not deliver it fully! I too echo the sentiments of the majority of the country and here are some points that I thought was worth highlighting in the 2 budgets:

Railway Budget 2009:

• Introduction of non stop trains from 12 metros
• Proposal to introduce double decker trains
• Proposal to upgrade the Railway Hospital at Trivandrum to a Medical College
• Introduction of new trains and extension of some trains within Kerala- a state that is often neglected at Railway Budgets
• Introduction of Rs.25passes for the under privilaged
• "Yuva" trains
• No changes in Freight and Passenger fares
• Reduction of Tatkal rates and the period
• 50 Railway stations to be upgraded to international standards
• 375 Adarsh stations

Announcement of Welfare schemes of railway employees and the special privilages extended to Kolkata and West Bengal might have brought frown to few faces but there is no denying the fact that Mamta has put in deep thoughts into the budget and made it highly populist and user friendly. The budget proposals, now doubt, are shining and what remains for all of us to see is whether the proposals are actually implemented and whether they achieve what is expected of them. Only time can tell...

Union Budget 2009:

On a positive note...

• Abolition of Fringe Benefit Tax
• No changes to Tax Rates
• Abolition of Surcharge for Personal tax payers
• 10A, 10B tax holidays extended by another year (STPI, FTZ etc)
• MAT Credit set off period extended from 7 to 10 years
• Personal Tax- Increase of taxation slabs for all classes of assessees
• General Focus on Rural Development
• LLP's to be assessed in the same manner as Partnerships

On a not so positive note...

• MAT increased to 15% from 10%
• Surcharge stays on for Corporate Tax
• More services brought under Service Tax Net (as usual)
• Increased tax on Set top Boxes making it dearer (Its already very costly!)
• Not much incentives for the Industrial sector considering the tough times we are in
• Special aids extended to West Bengal and Sri Lankan Tamils making it look like favor returned to allies rather than contributing towards the nation or the general public

However, I need to confess that I am still very hopeful of the UPA government under the leadership of Dr Manmohan Singh with stalwarts like P Chidambaram, Pranab Mukherji, AK Antony, SM Krishna and many more. I am hoping that the economy picks up soon and moves in the right direction. Its tough times all around and only the fittest can survive. Lets hope the Union Government is fit enough to lead us out into better times...