CEO, Tata Asset Management
First thing, the correction in the market in the last leg of the trading session was more on account of global news flow, about a possible default by a biggest Portuguese bank, and nothing to do with budget announcements.
Our first impression on the budget is that it is more a directional statement on government’s agenda and clearly links to the BJP’s manifesto. Budget this time around, is more granular, with the FM specifying action plan for specific sectors and areas of economy, instead of usual broad outlining of agenda.
Second, the FM had very short time to prepare for the budget after government swearing in, and hence it was not expected to be a bold policy statement. We are concerned about fiscal deficit target, while on paper target of 4.1% looks good, we believe that the government may overshoot it towards 4.5%.