Budget 2024 | Experts discuss key expectations, weighs in on market developments

As the eagerly awaited Budget 2024 is around the corner, financial experts from various investment firms share their insights and expectations on the upcoming economic policies. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, prominent figures in the finance industry express their views on the budget and its potential impact on the Indian economy.

When asked about his expectations from the Budget, Nilesh Shah, MD of Kotak Mahindra AMC emphasized the need for a vote on account that stimulates consumption at the bottom of the pyramid, ensuring it grows at a pace parallel to the top. Shah stressed the importance of pushing private capital expenditure to match government spending. He believes that achieving these two catalysts, coupled with fiscal prudence, will make Indians proud of their country, creating envy among neighbors.

Shah outlined three key expectations: continued investment, inclusive growth, and a commitment to fiscal prudence.

Taher Badshah, CIO, Invesco Mutual Fund expressed the desire for continuity in the economic policies while highlighting the need for additional levers to ensure visible growth beyond 2024. His statement emphasized the importance of sustained economic momentum for the coming years.

Nilesh Shah, MD & CEO of Envision Capital expects a comprehensive set of measures in the Budget that can potentially uplift the spending power of rural households. He envisions policies aimed at promoting economic well-being at the grassroots level.

Nilesh Shah of Envision Capital also weighed in on the challenges faced by Paytm, acknowledging the hurdles it currently confronts. The prevailing uncertainty surrounding the company, its business, and its stock is anticipated to take some time to resolve.

The recent Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL)-Disney deal, where Disney sold its Indian assets to Viacom18 for $3.9 billion, has been hailed as a massive positive development by Envision Capital’s Shah. He sees it as a significant consolidation that places Reliance and its media business in a pole position, creating optimism among investors.

“This is a huge positive. We own Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), so I have a vested interest,” he said.

According to KV Subramanian, Former CEA, Board Member for India, IMF, "This is a vote on account and therefore what the government is really doing is essentially getting an approval from parliament for spending for a few months till the actual budget happens."

Mahesh Nandurkar, India Strategist, Jefferies believes this will be the full-fledged Budget for the year.

"It is technically an Interim Budget but for all practical purposes, we should view this as a proper full year budget in my view. if the same party and the same ministers are going to be assuming the similar roles, it will be very difficult to argue for a very different budget in July as compared to February and the consensus today is that of a political continuity. So I would take this budget and budget numbers quite seriously," he said.