‘I always wait a day before commenting…’: What Anand Mahindra thinks of Budget 2023

Chairman of Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra, thought the Budget 2023, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, achieved a host of things. He listed out three things that he thought worked, when it came to the Union Budget 2023. Anand Mahindra commended the finance minister’s attempt to preserve India’s economy that’s in a “good shape”, fiscal discipline, and getting the economy on track towards a lower fiscal deficit.

“Before commenting, I always wait a day to absorb the details. First, the context is that India’s the only major economy in good shape and the budget’s task was to preserve that status. So I was gratified to see the higher capex. That’s all about investing for higher growth,” said Mahindra a day after the Union Budget 2023 was tabled. He was replying to a Twitter user’s question to him on his thoughts about the Budget.

In a series of tweets, he said that the DNA of the finance ministry has a strong sense of fiscal discipline and aversion to profligacy and bankruptcy embedded in it – unlike a “rather fragile neighbour” or ours. He was referring to Pakistan that is in the midst of an economic crisis.

“In line with our conservatism, it was good to see us back on a trajectory towards a lower fiscal deficit. It will be a stretch to achieve, but I believe the government. can speed up disinvestment in order to provide the necessary resources,” said Mahindra.

The Finance Minister said in the Budget speech that the fiscal deficit for 2023-24 is estimated to be 5.9 per cent of the GDP. “In my Budget Speech for 2021-22, I had announced that we plan to continue the path of fiscal consolidation, reaching a fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent by 2025-26 with a fairly steady decline over the period. We have adhered to this path, and I reiterate my intention to bring the fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent of GDP by 2025-26,”  she said. The revised estimate of the fiscal deficit for 2022-23 is 6.4 per cent of GDP, adhering to the Budget estimate.

FM Sitharaman said that to finance the fiscal deficit of 2023-24, the net market borrowings from dated securities are estimated at Rs 11.8 lakh crore, while the balance financing is expected to come from small savings and other sources. The gross market borrowings are estimated at Rs 15.4 lakh crore.

Also read: Decoding FM Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget math: Here's how the govt can maintain healthy fiscal deficit target