It's hard to tell—it depends on the timing of the general elections. But the more important question is, does Budget 2008 have—as Chidambaram claims—enough to spur, or even sustain, India's moderating growth and thus deliver the inclusiveness that this country needs?

On a splurge

The initial, terse comment from Sunil Mittal, Chairman and Group CEO, Bharti Enterprises and CII President, took cue from the Finance Minister's comment a day before the Budget: "Optimism with caution is the watchword for this year's Budget."

Optimistic one would imagine because India has now become used to annual economic growth topping 9 per cent, cautious because the same buoyant growth often begets profligacy.

If the last few years have seen the tax revenues grow from strength to strength then it has also encouraged pouring more funds down leaky pipes of social sector schemes which have indeterminate results.

However, all this was along expected lines and hence most of corporate India has been happy with the limited damage inflicted by the election-oriented Budget.

Hence, Mittal followed up with, "While I am delighted for the millions of farmers who get to enjoy the waiver, I am worried that this may be considered as a trendsetter and companies giving out such short-term loans in the future might get worried. Overall, it's a positive Budget."

Vallabh Bhansali, Chairman, Enam Financial Consultants, sums up the palpable relief in corporate boardrooms: "Under the circumstances, it is a responsible Budget."

If corporate sector has been circumspect in its assessment of the long-term vision detailed in the Budget statement, then the government allies are under no compulsion to do so. Says CPI leader D. Raja: "The Budget lacks long-term perspective and gave the indication that the direction in which economic reforms were going could be dangerous. It is more of short-term relief."

Neither does the present opposition. Says BJP leader, and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha: "He has not provided any growth impulses for the economy. Where will the growth come from when the interest rates continue to be high? It will have a dampening effect on the overall growth as well as individuals. Then, there is nothing big in terms of infrastructure, project or industry, so investment demand will slow down and this will lead to a further slow down in the economy."