'The budget will be full of compromises'

Thirty-one-year old Krishnan Ramdas says the first budget of any government is keenly watched by all -- industrialists, economists and the ordinary people -- because it shows the direction in which the government plans to move.

"Similarly, everybody is eager to know who will have a greater say in this government; the Congress or the Left. The big question is -- who will compromise more?"

And, he does not have any 'expectations' from the budget that will be presented by P Chidambaram. "It will be full of compromises, and a reversal of what the National Democratic Alliance had followed, especially because of the way the Left parties are pressuring the government. The Left feels the government should have a larger role in the economy, so, to an extent, the budget will go back to the socialist era."

"On the other hand, the budgets of the NDA were in the right direction in terms of boosting sectors like telecom, bringing market forces into place, reducing the government's role in business, et cetera."

He also does not expect the budget deficit to come down. "The budget deficit will shoot through the roof. And, inflation rate will also go up."

Krishnan Ramdas considers the last two budgets by the NDA government as path breaking, and the two finance ministers of the post-liberalisation era who have impressed him most are Dr Manmohan Singh and Yashwant Sinha.

"I would not rate P Chidambaram 'so high.' He is well qualified but his agenda is very unclear now due to which there is a lot of confusion."

If he were the finance minister of India, he would present a smaller, more efficient budget. "I would bring down the role of government in running businesses. Expenditure will be mostly on education, the social sector and healthcare."

-- Shobha Warrier

Photograph: Sreeram Selvaraj

Budget 2004-05: Complete Coverage

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