THE GREAT RESET

The FM has set the stage, but timely execution is critical

- Joe C. Mathew

The BSE Sensex, the 30-stock bellwether index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, zoomed 2,315 points — rising 5 per cent — on the day Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented Union Budget 2021/22. The buoyancy continued the next day too, indicating that the fine print also looked good to investors. “Uncluttered and smart,” is how Mumbai-based broking firm Anand Rathi described the Budget.

It has been quite some time since a Union Budget received such a resounding approval. In addition to markets, economists, corporates, bankers and experts tracking the Indian economy have responded positively to the budgetary proposals. Some are very enthusiastic, others are not, but very few are complaining about the prescriptions Sitharaman has for reviving the pandemic-hit Indian economy.