Budget 2017: Govt demonstrated fiscal prudence in tough situations, says CEA

The government has demonstrated fiscal prudence in difficult circumstances, says the Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian. He adds the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who presented the Budget today, has performed a good balancing act between the expenses and revenues. With tax rate cut to 25 percent for small and medium enterprises with revenues under Rs 50 crore per year, we are ahead of the roadmap, says the CEA. This new tax rate creates a level playing field for all corporates, he adds.The Finance Secretary, Ashok Lavasa, says almost 98 percent of micro small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) will get covered under the new cut in tax rate for companies.Subramanian says the FRBM panel wanted the deficit to go down to three percent and then pause there for the next three years. It had recommended a steady glide path for fiscal deficit.Lavasa says a lot of money is being put into agriculture sector and other allied services sectors. The funds put into the rural development, including rural housing, will create several jobs, he adds. All assets created under the rural employment schemes are being geotagged, he says."The agriculture credit target of Rs 10 lakh crore is achievable," Lavasa tells CNBC-TV18.The Finance Minister has kept his promise on reducing corporate tax rates, says Shaktikanta Das, Secretary Economic Affairs. Revenue Secretary, Hasmukh Adhia says Rs 4 lakh crore has been deposited in 18 lakh accounts post demonetisation. Das reassures the process behind analysing the demonetisation data will be done in a very non-intrusive manner.Watch videos for more.