Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 presented the Union Budget for the financial year 2022-23, which, largely, elicited a positive response from the corporate sector.

Uday Kotak, MD, Kotak Mahindra Bank said, “Budget: trust based governance to build atmanirbharbharat. Reposes faith in taxpayers, entrepreneurs, investors. Build an open, digital and inclusive India with a 25 year vision. I am proud to be Indian.”

“The 2022-23 budget finely balanced fiscal retreat with supporting economic recovery. The budget focussed on a familiar strategy of driving capital expenditure to drive growth, with the intention of crowding in private investment through higher public spending. Although markets could be disappointed with a higher fiscal deficit of 6.4% of GDP for FY23 than expected, it is perhaps prudent to not undertake aggressive fiscal consolidation at this nascent stage of recovery. While elevated market borrowings are likely to pressurise bond yields, inclusion of green bonds in the borrowing plan are an interesting innovation,” said Abheek Barua, Chief Economist, HDFC Bank.

Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw called this Budget a “positive rhetoric with no negative surprises= balanced budget”. She added that fiscal prudence and business ease has been the theme of this budget and a 35 percent rise in capex will drive infrastructure and jobs.

Mahindra Group chairman and Padma awardee Anand Mahindra has also applauded Nirmala Sitharaman for giving a brief Budget speech this year. Sitharaman’s Budget speech was 90 minutes long this year and lasted from 11 am to 12:30 pm. “Brevity has always been a virtue. Nirmala Sitharaman’s shortest budget address may prove to be the most impactful…,” he tweeted.

The Union Budget 2022-23 is growth-oriented, focused on building long term strength using investment as the lever while maintaining policy stability and inclusivity, auto industry body SIAM President Kenichi Ayukawa said on Tuesday.