IIM Indore Screens Union Budget 2008-09 Live

IIM Indore Screens Union Budget 2008-09 Live

For the first time in IIM Indore, Union Budget was screened live for participants and staff members on the big screen of its auditorium. This is an event MBA students would like to follow and keep themselves informed on, as an important national economic exercise.

IIM Indore Students Watching Live Union Finance Minister's Presentation of Budget 2008-09

Participants had great expectations from Union Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram. Majority of the students felt that the budget was in-line with the forth-coming national polls scheduled for next year. Expressing his views, Vyasdeep Gupta, Sectetary, Equit-I, the Finance Club of IIM Indore, said, "The Union Budget 2008-09 is a fitting precursor to the upcoming general elections. The Finance Minister seems to have left no stone unturned to please the masses and manifest the UPA's concern for the 'aam aadmi'." For B-school graduates, he further said, "The class of 2008 has a small reason to cheer. The income tax slab has been revised and the exemption limit is raised from Rs. 1.1 Lakhs to Rs. 1.5 Lakhs. This will see their take home packages raise marginally. Besides, the government's proposals to create 3 new IITs and upward revision of the mid-meal schemes augurs well for the education sector."

According to Saugato, PGP participant, budget will have an adverse effect on the stock market. "The inclusion of stock market services under the service tax net, increase in the short-term capital gains tax and unchanged corporate tax rate will have a telling effect on the market. The short term capital gains tax will affect day traders and short term investors which constitute the bulk of the trading volume on exchanges," Saugato commented.

Despite of a populist budget, Dhruv Dhingra, a first year PGP participant, was happy with the rural focus of the budget. According to him, new irrigation projects, increase in rural credit, and a new monitoring agency to oversee implementation were some of the prime highlights of the budget. Finance Minister's speech also tried to meet a long standing demand of experts in relation to smart cards for the Public Distribution System, as the system will be done on a pilot basis in Chandigarh and Haryana.

Another participant, Nikhil Kumar, termed the budget as progressive.

Overall, this year's union budget received mixed views from the students' community of the institute.

Concluded.

Contributed by -
Gaurav Gupta,
PGP 1,
Member, Media & PR Committee,
IIM Indore.

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