Budget builds foundation to navigate global economic complexities, says NSE's Ashish Chauhan

Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD and CEO, NSE

The interim Budget 2024 represents a continuation of the government's strategic vision for the nation’s growth, emphasising infrastructure development, fiscal consolidation, and social empowerment, said Ashishkumar Chauhan, managing director and chief executive officer of National Stock Exchange.

Chauhan believes the budget to be in line with the country’s foundation to navigate the complexities of global economic landscape during the Kartavyakaal over the coming years while achieving a Viksit Bharat by 2047.

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“The interim budget is a comprehensive plan aimed at fostering economic growth while exercising fiscal restraint. The Budget points to four major ‘castes’ - the poor, the farmers, the women, and the youth, and correctly considers their needs and welfare as the highest priority," he said.

Chauhan expresses that India has successfully navigated several challenges by showing resilience in the face of crisis related to food, fertiliser and has also contributed solutions to global problems.

Although the tax regime remained unchanged, Chauhan said that the tax regime has now been refined over the years, with both direct and indirect taxes rationalised to provide certainty for future investments, particularly to foreign investors.

"The results are there to see—the direct tax/GDP ratio at 6.6 percent is the highest since the 1980s," he said, adding that the stock market performance has been a testament to India’s economic growth potential, with the Nifty50 generating compounded return of 14 percent in the last decade.

NSE in 2023

The exchange boasts 73.7 percent global share in the number of contracts traded in equity derivatives in CY23 as of November-end. It had a 60.5 percent global share in the number of contracts traded in derivatives across all asset classes as of November-end.

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Individual investors who have traded at least once in equity derivatives this calendar year stood at 83.6 lakh, up 31 percent year-on-year, while for cash segment the number declined 0.4 percent YoY to 2.67 crore. This only shows that number of speculators are steadily rising in Indian markets.