The Best Reads On #Budget2017

The Union Budget presented yesterday (1 February) by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was thankfully without much fanfare and upsets for a country that has just gone through a disruptive demonetisation exercise. Free of bad ideas, the budget was reassuring at times of uncertainty, most experts have said. But some have questioned the lack of a ‘bolder vision’ and if the budget is too somber to weather a gathering storm in global capitalism. Yet on the whole, it was a thumbs up for the budget.

1. T N Ninan: Bottom-line - budget provides re-assurance.

Jaitley's proposals convey a message of stability and predictability in times of uncertainty.

2. Pratap Bhanu Mehta - Steadying the ship

Budget is a sober response to fear and uncertainty. But will it help tackle gathering storm in global capitalism?

3. R Jagannathan - ‎The 10 Key Takeaways From Arun Jaitley’s Fourth Budget

Perhaps the biggest plus of this budget is that it brought no negative shocks. And no bad ideas like farm loan waivers.

4. Dr V Anantha Nageswaran: A safe, sound but inadequate budget

One needed a bolder vision to make the country buzz again with the excitement of enhanced possibilities, the 2017-18 budget is missing that.

5. Mihir S Sharma: A Budget that didn't go far enough

Budget also notable for its continued focus on a growth-promotion model that has so far failed

6. Harish Damodaran: What Modinomics means: Government less a spender, more an enabler

The Centre’s fiscal deficit has been pegged at 3.2 per cent of GDP, only a tad out of line with the Modi government’s original roadmap of reducing it from 4.1 per cent in 2014-15 to 3 per cent by 2017-18.

7. Shubhashis Gangopadhyay: Consistent with fiscal prudence

The best the government can do is leave its own imprint on what it thinks the Budget should achieve

8. Sajid Chinoy : Striking the right balance

A responsible Budget that prioritises macroeconomic stability while protecting public investment

9. Chandrababu Naidu: Budget 2017 takes radical steps quietly to a giant leap into India's future:

The Budget has focusd on inclusive growth.

10. Arundhati Bhattacharya: Recapitalisation of banks will boost their lending capacity:

The budget has chalked a clear fiscal path for the years ahead.