'It's a 50-50 Budget'

Deepak Mehta manufactures rubber stamps. The sector in which Mehta operates is not at all impacted by the Budget announced by Pranab Mukherjee on Monday.

He gives a 50-50 to Budget 2009. He is not at all happy with the recent hikes in the rates of petrol and diesel.
The good point, he feels, is the spending on the social sectors and the steady growth experienced by India Inc despite a global slowdown.

He is sure that food prices will shoot up by up to 20 per cent in the next three months because of the hike effected in the prices of petrol and diesel.

He wants the finance minister to abolish sales tax completely so that India's growth can accelerate. Higher sales tax leads to black marketeering, he says.