The interim Budget

With reference to the two edit-page articles (February 6) on the recently presented interim Budget, to call it ‘fiscal window-dressing’ is unjustified. Although Budgets on election eve would only be meant for approval for tax collection and expenditures up to the presentation of the regular budget after elections, schemes such as monetary help to unorganised sector workers and farmers in distress should not wait for a regular Budget and that is what the interim Budget has attempted to achieve.

As described in the second article, it is a ‘feel good Budget’. Since regular Budgets are prepared keeping in mind the policy objectives and ideological factors, important items which might impact the common man’s domestic budget are included in the regular Budgets.

But such items are not considered in the present one except reliefs where needed which are justified. In any case any items considered unjustified in the interim Budget can be reconsidered in the regular Budget.

Coimbatore

With reference to the Editorial ‘Late reaction’ (February 5), we surely need better awareness to raise early warnings on financial crisis. Given the crisi in ICICI Bank and DHFL, we also need better whistle-blower system in companies and also dedicated hotlines to cater to the victims or whistle blowers.

Often we may come across wrong doing but are afraid to come forward and report it, due to fear of repercussions.

Companies must have a whistle-blowers’ hotline and dedicated email ID managed by independent agencies or persons outside the company for prompt action.. Also State governments and the Ministry of Company Affairs (MCA) should come up with some regulation for monitoring this mechanism. We need auditor’s i.e. peer review to happen and also we need MCA to undertake more scrutiny before it’s too late. Also rating agencies must take a larger role in spotting financial crises in companies and not just confine themselves to rating financial instruments.

Mumbai

With reference to ‘India keeps foreign firms on tenterhooks’, the writer paints a a grim picture of our poor economic policy in terms of foreign investments. If the government’s new rule in e-commerce business is to facilitate Mukesh Ambani led Reliance then it is a dangerous situation.

Aditya Mittal of Arcelor Mittal is right when he says that India should be a rule-based economy where business is done with total transparency. Both the Insolvency Code and GST are a work in progress but whatever concerns foreign investors may have with regard to taxes should be addressed by the government and authorities. Given the tepid domestic investment scene, we cannot afford to keep foreign investors from investing in India.

Noida

With reference to “A feel-good Budget for an election year” (February 6), the benefits extended in the Budget to the low-income farmers and the much neglected unorganised labour are not only good politics but also good economics. The PM-KISAN scheme would covers tenant farmers unlike the Rythu Bandhu scheme of Telangana. The outgo will be spread over three instalments diluting the monetary impact. The outgo from the pension scheme for unorganised labour will accrue years later while the inflow by way of subscription would commence immediately. Moreover, the benefit would cover 22 crore Indians most of whom were not on the welfare radar of earlier regimes.

Added to this is the I-T sops for the salaried class. The number of beneficiaries would go up. Yet, the fact that the expenditure would not affect the fiscal deficit (estimated to be 3.3 per cent next fiscal) indicates that it is not an election bonanza altogether. It is good financial planning as well.

Pune

With reference to the standalone picture “Rating cut blues” (Market Radar, February 6), the Bharti Airtel stock closed at ₹307.85 and not ₹293.30, as published. The error is regretted.

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