Union Budget 2024-25 Reaction – Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairperson, Aditya Birla Group.
“All budgets are tough balancing acts in India, but the FY25 budget presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman was a remarkable exercise in balancing economic growth with fiscal prudence. While India’s macro-economic backdrop was favourable ahead of the budget, it would not be wise to fritter away the hard-fought gains of fiscal consolidation just as it was being recognised worldwide. And yet there was a need to address several constituents—women, youth, farmers, rural and urban poor, consumers, startups, and of course, domestic industry.
It was, therefore, a pleasant surprise to see the budget delivering on all key fronts. It was fiscally prudent, with this financial year’s budget deficit target estimated at 4.9% of GDP, lower than the 5.1% estimated in the interim budget in February this year. The government has sensibly avoided reckless freebies and sops, preferring to focus instead on targeted spending on skill development, job creation, and farmer welfare. A package of measures to help MSMEs tide over hurdles to borrowing is laudable, as it provides the much-needed support to a section of industry that is on the fringes of the formal economy.”