Generally, the common-man infer a lot from watching the last twenty-odd minutes of a budget speech or analysing the behaviour of the stock markets. So, if the stock markets trade up by a percent, then it is anticipated as a positive budget and vice-versa. This budget announcement, the seventh one for Nirmala Sitharaman could go down in history as her first one where the markets did not rally as exuberantly as the other budget speeches.
To those who need an ultra-simple answer on how this budget affects you and India? My clear answer is, that the beauty lies in the details. Inferring from the last twenty-minutes or analysing stock market performance may not be the right way to analyse this budget. That, because the announcement shows how tactfully India’s finance-team has managed to navigate the unpleasant vagaries of a still-VUCA world and has managed to infuse hope.
Personally, there are three reasons which highlights the optimism from this Budget speech. Ideally, most budgets are calculations that tally revenue with expenses. But this budget delves into finer arguments involving legal structures and the need for simplification.
Simplification has been an underrated and often under-appreciated art. And it must be bestowed upon Madam Sitharaman for even thinking of introducing it in her several budget speeches. The simplified tax regime, for instance, has been appreciated by 58% of income-tax subscribers.
With the 2024 budget announcement, the simplification process has man.