Anand Mahindra weighs in on Budget 2023: 'Gratified to see...'

The task of the Union Budget is to preserve India’s status as the only major economy in good shape, industrialist Anand Mahindra said, as he weighed in on Budget 2023 that was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in parliament on February 1.

Breaking down his thoughts into three key points, the Mahindra group chief spoke about the emphasis on capital expenditure in Budget 2023. Sitharaman said the government has increased capital expenditure for FY24 steeply by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, which would be 3.3 percent of India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“…I was gratified to see the higher capex. That’s all about investing for higher growth,” Anand Mahindra tweeted.

He said this budget has lived up to India’s conservative tradition of financial discipline. "…the DNA of our finance ministry has embedded in it a strong sense of fiscal discipline and an aversion to profligacy & bankruptcy. (Unlike a rather fragile neighbour of ours) This budget lived up to that conservative tradition,” he tweeted, taking a dig at Pakistan that is going through a major economic crisis.

“In line with our conservatism, it was good to see us back on a trajectory towards a lower fiscal deficit.”