Yesterday’s Railway Budget derails Political Scenario…hope Union Budget tomorrow brings All back on Track
It is comical really…Railway Minister,Mr Dinesh Trivedi of the TMC, in the UPA Government raised fares moderately when he presented the Railway Budget yesterday….his own Party TMC wants him sacked as the Minister….TMC could well stand for Trivedi Mamta Conflict !…They want Mukul Roy to become the Railway Minister and announce a a roll back of the rise in fares….as Mukul Roy landed in Delhi this morning,the Sensex landed 100 points lower and closed over 200 points lower
RBI announced no rate changes today …..
Hope Pranab Mukherjee’s Union Budget tomorrow brings us back 0n track….some hope and cheer to look forward to perhaps !?….challenging issues of inflation,fiscal deficit,rising oil price and heavy food,fuel and fertiliser subsidies and coalition compulsions to deal with…populist or reformist ?…the economic survey clocks our GDP for 2011/12 at 6.9% and higher and back on track for 2012/13 and even higher for 2013/14
Last year Pranab’s Union Budget speech was long and winding and boring and sleep inducing and quite lack lustre…hope the one he delivers tomorrow at 11 am in the Lok Sabha is an improvement in both content and delivery
Will our Indices be impacted by Budget Pronouncements ?…of course they will…but only for a very short while….Over US $ 7 Billion FII Inflows in 2012 has kept them buoyant and bouncing…Sensex closed 2011 at 15500 levels and surged in early 2012 to 18500 levels before correcting and reacting back to 17500 levels….. It now needs the support of some real significant fundamental positives to maintain this upward bias for the rest of 2012…
I don’t expect any path breaking or game changing budgetary pronouncements…I don’t think Pranab Mukherjee is capable of making these even if he could or should…he is old school…nearing his 80s….extremely loyal to the Gandhis….his mindset is more to protect the PSUs and the Bureacracy and ensure control and power is retained with the politicians…Liberalisation,Privatisation or Globalisation are not words in his Dictionary…Many fear it’s back to Babudom with Babu Moshai Pranab Mukherjee !….Pranabji, surprise us tomorrow…prove me wrong !…announce the date to roll out GST all over India…announce bold measures to reduce subsidies significantly…don’t keep depending on Disinvestment to reduce Fiscal Deficits and bail out Government….announce a cap on government borrowings…..Think of this as your Last Budget !….for the probability of Mid Term Polls before General Elections in 2014 is high and Congress may simply be unseated from Power as high unprecedented Levels of Corruption and seeming inability to combat growing Inflation will weigh heavily against them