On the bright side, the Interim Budget puts more disposable income in the hands of the middle class, farmers and the workers in the unorganised sector and is expected to boost the economy with a spur in demand and consumption. 

Zero tax on taxable income of up to Rs 5 lakh to provide relief to a big section of the tax-paying population.

The government has tried to apply balm on realty sector's wounds with sops ahead of the 2019 general elections. But that may not be enough.

The Interim Budget has delivered pro-growth impetus without giving way to populism.

The salaried class has an additional reason to cheer as the limit of standard deduction, which was re-introduced last year, has been enhanced from Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000.

The recent government sanction to create the advanced Centralised Processing Centre 2.0 in the I-T Department is a precursor to such futuristic proposals, CBDT Chairman Sushil Chandra said.

The board meeting on February 9 might take up government's request for interim dividend for the current fiscal. The government expects Rs 28,000 crore from the RBI as interim dividend.