Ambitious Budget presented by Finance Minister

Pranab Mukerjee presented the budget for the current fiscal year yesterday and it appears to have something for everyone.  Expenditures rise by about 35% with the stated goal of halving poverty over the next several years. Thefiscal deficit — the gap between its revenue and expenditure — is expected to balloon to 6.8 per cent of GDP  compared to just 2.7 per cent in 2007-08.

Of interest to Western companies, defence spending is also expected to rise by over 30%, echoing a trend indicated in the “interim budget” presented a few months ago.

Corporate India gets some relief with the removal of the “Fringe Benefits Tax”, which is a kind of tax on expenses; foreign companies will appreciate this.

The government’s official highlights are listed here. http://indiabudget.nic.in/ub2009-10/bh/bh1.pdf