The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has presented his maiden Budget Speech in Parliament today. Jaitley said the Government intends to usher in a policy regime that would bring the desired growth, lower inflation, sustained level of external sector balance and prudent policy stance.

''This biggest positive from this budget is the emphasis the government has accorded to infrastructure creation. Keeping in mind the fiscal constraints, the Hon'ble Finance Minister has very intelligently calibrated his maiden Budget to promote growth and employment without sacrificing prudence. This budget has set up a very positive trend to the economy after a long time. Strengthening the systems for Advance Tax Ruling will substantially reduce tax litigations and ambiguities. This should be also extended to domestic companies,'' said, Hemant Kanoria, CMD, Srei Infrastructure Finance.

Hemant Kanoria continued, ''I feel the proposed move to provide exemptions to banks from CRR and SLR obligations by linking those to long-term infrastructure loans is a masterstroke and can prove to be a game-changer in the field of infrastructure financing. It will also help mobilizing funds through issue of infrastructure bonds. I welcome the emphasis on skill development as this can help the nation reap its 'demographic dividend'. I also laud the clearly stated objective of using Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for creation of productive assets. This will ensure that public money is spent on meaningful initiatives. The Budget has also announced steps towards encouraging entrepreneurship at rural levels. I feel there is excellent scope for dove-tailing all these into meaningful initiatives and that can do a world of good for uplifting the welfare of the rural economy.''

''There is need for some clarity on the Retrospective Taxation issue. The tax is not yet abolished, but a high-powered committee under Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is now supposed to review any dispute arising from such taxation issues on a case-to-case basis. When the law remains unchanged, I am not quite sure what the committee's role can be apart from a mediating agent,'' he added.

''I think one area which seems to have escaped the notice of the Finance Minister is the Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) sector in this budget. We have been advocating the need to revive leasing in India as it is an empirically proven tool for infrastructure creation all over the world,'' Kanoria added.