As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rolled out a
health-oriented Union Budget for the fiscal year 2021-22, major industrialists
and economists shared their opinion on the Budget.

Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group, said that the Union
Budget 2021 “ticked the box” of his expectations from it.

“In a time of
unprecedented economic stress, the Govt’s responsibility was to spend enough to
revive the economy or else face enormous human suffering. So I had one
expectation from this budget: that we should be very liberal in terms of the
targeted fiscal deficit. Box ticked,” he said.

Uday Kotak, CEO, Kotak
Mahindra Bank, said that the Budget speech included “next-gen reforms.”

“A Budget for growth
with next-gen reforms. Focus on healthcare, infra, financial sector. A stable
tax regime, higher borrowings for capex. Specific reforms: disinvestment &
monetization, opening up of insurance, cleanup plan for stressed assets. Sign
of a self confident India,” he said

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Anil Agarwal, Executive
Chairman, Vedanta Resources Limited, was in support of the “very reformist”
Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

“Congratulations to
@narendramodi and FM @nsitharaman for a very reformist #Budget2021 with many
big ideas including strategic disinvestment of two public sector banks and one
insurance company. Thrust on infrastructure will boost growth,” he said.  

Lav Chaturvedi, ED and CEO, Reliance Securities said that
the Budget will ease out the process of doing business in Indian financial
markets, PTI reported. The single securities market code in the Budget speech
has ensured that.

This, along with FDI regime and development financial
institution, would be transforming for financial markets, he said.

Sandip Somany, ex-President,
FICCI, shared his thoughts on the Budget.

“The Budget ticks all
the boxes,” Somany told NDTV.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geofit
Financial Services, appreciated the “growth-oriented budget”.

“This is indeed a bold growth-oriented budget. Absence
of the much-feared Covid tax and the surcharges on Income Tax is a great relief.
Privatisation of two nationalised banks and proposal of monetisation of assets
like land are clear positives,” he said.

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Vijayakumar lauded Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
for presenting a “bold and visionary budget”.

“Raising FDI in insurance from 49 per cent to 74 per
cent is welcome. Market response to the budget reflects growth optimism. In
brief, the FM has presented a pragmatic, bold and visionary budget in these
difficult times,” he added.

Vipin Sondhi, Chairman, CII Trade Fairs Council said, “This is a well thought out Budget. The key is
in the implementation. This is a Budget for growth.”