N Ramachandran, Chief Financial Officer, iGate

Your first reaction to the Budget

It couldn't have been more populist than this because the major allocation (Rs 60,000 crore0 has gone to the loan waiver scheme.

So, do you feel the Budget was prepared with an early election in mind?

Possible. Loan waiver coupled with the increase in the tax exemption limit -- of course, that's very positive -- give the impression of a populist Budget.

What are the positives and negatives of the Budget?

There are both positives and negatives.

On the positive side: Increase in the allocation on education and health. All this far, what was lacking was the implementation of allocations. But in this Budget we have been told how the allocations will be put to use. That is very important.

The second positive feature is the reduction in the excise duties. That will be a fillip to the manufacturing sector. Reduction in the duty for pharmaceutical and auto industries are very positive. It will be good for the banking sector especially the PSUs that will be hit by the loan waiver.

Then, increase in the taxation limit is a positive sign.

On the negative side, the most glaring is the increase in the short term capital gain tax (from 10 to 15 percent).

From your perspective, has he done enough for the IT industry?

No, he has not done anything at all for the IT sector. We expected the extension of STPI schemes. We don't find any mention of that at all. There is no mention of credits from inputs. Corporate tax rates have not been changed at all. So, there is nothing much for the information technology sector.

He has extended service tax to customised software which hitherto was not exposed to service tax.

Is this Budget inflationary, or will it spur growth?

It may have an inflationary tendency for 2-3 reasons. One is, by increasing the tax exemption limit, it will promote consumerism. So, there will be an inflationary impact on that. The waiver of loans also can have an inflationary effect.

Who do you think will bear the brunt of the waiver of Rs 60,000 crore?

The tax payers are bearing that. Because of the Rs 60,000 crore waiver, some of the other sectors are deprived from any tax concessions or benefits. It is definitely a concern.

How do you rate the Budget on a scale of 1-10?

I will rate it 5/10.