Here's what Uday Kotak has to say on Budget 2019

By Uday KotakA good budget must capture the pulse of the nation and respond appropriately. The budget, presented by Piyush Goyal, demonstrates sensitivity and responds suitably to the needs of the nation.When I look at the focus of this budget, it is a boost to rural, housing (sector) and consumers.It is a response to the middle-class of India, to different segments of the society, which is more the mass of India. This segment has significant implications for growth of consumer demand, both in urban and rural areas.An average middle-class person would be delighted to know that he or she pays no taxes on income up to Rs 5 lakh.In addition, of course, there are deductions available. For many years, middle-class people in semi-urban and urban India believed that they were not getting as good a deal as the farmers.So, while the interim finance minister has taken care of the farmers, he has also taken care of the wide, vast expanse of the lower middle class and the middle class of India. This is the pulse of the nation which Budget 2019-20 has been sensitive to.Yes, of course, it is the last budget of this government. In a way the government is responding to the needs of the nation and is appropriate for its time in the fifth year of this government.Going forward, when I look at the implications for investors, they should be focussed on, as I mentioned, three sectors — rural, housing and consumer-oriented.These sectors stand to benefit from the current budget.At the same time, they need to keep an eye on the implications of the slightly higher fiscal deficit in terms of interest rates on government securities and bonds.These determine the sovereign yield curve, basis which the rest of the interest rate in the economy gets determined.Additionally, we have to watch the implications of this budget in terms of the RBI’s monetary policy, which is expected shortly.So, there are a lot of interesting and moving pieces but, all in all, I would consider that the Budget for FY 2019-20 captures the mood of the nation and responds to it with a bang.

from Economic Times http://bit.ly/2D6uV7g