The Union budget 2024–25 focuses on long-standing issues such as employment generation and significant reforms in the agriculture sector, according to Madhusudan Kela, founder of MK Ventures Capital Ltd.
He highlighted the budget's efforts in addressing long-pending income tax laws, stating, "Overall, it's a good budget. It focuses on a lot of longer-pending issues."
Kela commended the government's commitment to fiscal deficit. "On the face of it, the numbers looked very large, but in finer details, they have done a commendable job of sticking to fiscal deficit and even lowering it," he said.
Kela also addressed market reactions, attributing recent corrections to changes in capital gains taxes. "Markets have had a fabulous run in the last three years. So, it had to have some reason for a small correction. That came in the form of short-term capital gains and an increase in long-term capital gains," he said.
The budget's reclassification of asset classes and a uniform 12.5% rate for long-term capital gains aims to diversify investments beyond the stock market, he said.
Additionally, lowering duties on gold is expected to encourage investment in the precious metal. "The government's intention is to ensure that savings get distributed and not just go into one asset class," Kela said.
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