Budget Reactions: Responsible Budget with eye on investments: Kotak

Dipen Shah
Kotak Securities

“The Finance Minister has projected fiscal deficit in line with what he had promised and it is far better than what the situation was when he had come in. To that extent, he has presented a responsible Budget. We believe that, the Budget focuses rightly on higher investments, which can lead to better growth rates in the future. Several initiatives have been announced in the infrastructure sector. Follow up action, in terms of removing infrastructure bottle-necks, will be needed and will go a long way in helping the Government achieve the growth targets.   

The imposition of higher excise duty on ITC was anticipated but the extent was larger than anticipated. However, there are expectations that the company will be able to pass on most of it without any significant impact on volumes. 

For the stock market, the reduction in STT for F&O trades is only a marginal positive. Markets were hoping for some more incentives. While CTT has been imposed, it has been imposed in a limited way and agricultural commodities have been kept out of the purview. To that extent, the impact is less severe."

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