Budget reactions live: It isn't possible to have a Cong Mukt Budget, says Chidu

7.33 pm: It isn't possible to have a Congress Mukt Budget, says ChiduFormer Minister P Chidambaram today said imprint of the UPA Government's policy can be seenin the Budget 2014 presented by Arun Jaitley, adding it is not possible to come out with a "Congress Mukt Budget". "Welcome to the real world... BJP sought a mandate for Congress Mukt Bharat. My friend, Arun Jaitley, would have realised that it is not possible to have even a Congress Mukt Budget," Chidambaram said in his comments on the NDA government's first Budget. The senior Congress leader said Jaitley has acknowledged the basic validity of the numbers presented by him in the Interim Budget for 2014-15 in February. The "imprint of the UPA government's policies" on fiscal consolidation, GST, FDI cap in insurance and social sector schemes, Chidambaram said, can be found throughout the Budget speech of Jaitley and in the Budget documents. However, he added "what was also missing was humour. And inspirational quotes from Victor Hugo or Tiruvalluvar". He also complimented Jaitley "for shunning the election rhetoric" about the economy as well as the "uninformed diatribe" against UPA policies by some of his colleagues in the run up to Budget day. "I am glad that Arun Jaitley has acknowledged the basic validity of the numbers presented in the Interim Budget for 2014-15 and has stuck to them... He has also maintained the tax revenue estimates for Corporation Tax, Customs and Service Tax," he added.7.15 pm: AK Antony slams Jaitley's FDI decision for defenceAttacking the NDA government for raising the FDI limit to 49 percent in the defence sector, former Defence Minister AK Antony today said that previous governments had overcome the "pressure tactics" of "lobbies" working for 100 percent FDI in the key area."I know a very strong lobby is working. Their demand is 100 percent FDI in defence. Successive governments since 1991 have overcome such pressure tactics. Their decision not to grant FDI beyond 26 percent in the defence sector was well thought out," said the senior Congress leader.As part of the previous UPA government, Antony shot down several proposals from the Commerce Ministry to raise the FDI limit and stuck to the stand of allowing only up to 26 percent foreign investment in the military-industrial sector.Coming down heavily on the Narendra Modi government, Antony said that "the proposal to increase FDI from 26 percent to 49 percent in defence production will harm our national security".While presenting Union Budget 2014-15, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that India is the largest buyer of defence equipment in the world and its domestic manufacturing capacities were still at a nascent stage. The country meets a substantial part of its defence requirements by buying directly from foreign players.Antony said that with this decision, gradually all the defence manufacturing companies in India will come under the control of foreign multi-national companies, which are in turn controlled by the big powers."Hitherto, India was following an independent foreign policy and strategic independence and we scrupulously avoided joining any of the military blocks even though we are friendly with almost all the important countries."We have always taken special care to see that we are not aligning with any military block," he added.5.09 pm: Jaitley's budget lack bold ideas, tweets Shashi TharoorCongress leader Shashi Tharoor today hit out at Arun Jaitley saying while Jaitley criticised UPA's budgets, his budget lacked bol ideas."After hearing Arun Jaitley’s views on the UPA’s budgets over the last 5 years, am disappointed in his own budget’s lack of “big, bold ideas”, " tweeted Tharoor and added, "A budget can’t be a laundry list of assorted 100-crore sops to various constituencies: where's the vision and a clear policy direction?"Pointing out that 28 projects were allotted Rs 100 crores, Tharoor tweeted saying, "Were we hearing a budget speech or Bollywood box office collections?""After accusing UPA of fudging numbers,NDA budget accepts fiscal deficit of 4.6%. But gives no specifics on how it will bring it down to 4.1%," Tharoor said.2.57 pm: BSP, SP slam Modi govt budget, say it won't benefit the poor They may be bitter rivals in Uttar Pradesh but they both echoed similar views when it came to opposing the maiden budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.This is a pro-elitist budget, it will bring acche din just for the rich in the society: Sudheendra Bhadoria, BSP spokesperson said.Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, SP Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav expressed similar views saying the budget had nothing for the poor and favoured only corporates.2.50 pm: Ajay Maken slams #Rs100crFM, says cost of one km metro work is Rs 204 crFormer Congress minister Ajay Maken has slammed Arun Jaitley's allocation of Rs 100 crore for metro projects in Lucknow and Ahmedabad saying the average cost of constructing one km of metro track is Rs 204 cr.

Another joke by Rs #100crFM; Rs 100 cr set aside for Metro Projects in Lucknow and Ahmedabad. Avg. per KM cost of Delhi Metro is Rs 204 cr! — Ajay Maken (@ajaymaken) July 10, 2014

2.47 pm: Poor will be affected by Modi govt's budget, says Mamata BanerjeeTerming the new government as one "of the FDI, by the FDI and for the FDI," TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee said the poor of the country will be adversly affected by the government's decisions."The budget is visionless, missionless and actionless from the angle of the common people. It is not going to stimulate growth and development of the poor. In both the budgets, it is noticeable that Bengal and so many other states are getting deprived. The new government has just started functioning with a political vendetta," she said.2.30 pm: Except 49% FDI in defence, nothing new in Modi budgetCongress Spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi today said there was no new vision in the NDA government's budget except for raising the FDI amount in Defence from 26% to 49%.

Tell me a single new vision new idea new direction new speed in the budget xcept 49% in defence which I welcome. I hav searched x10 in vain — Abhishek Singhvi (@DrAMSinghvi) July 10, 2014

2.12 pm: Modi govt budget doesn't help in fixing economy, says RahulCongress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today said that the NDA government's budget had nothing in it to fix the economy and it in fact could just slow down growth further."This Budget doesn't quicken the economic pulse, infact it slows it down," he said. Echoing his mother's views, Rahul also said that the Budget was all about usurping UPA ideas.

No clear roadmap in the Budget. It is a laundry list of Rs 100Cr proposals: #RahulGandhi on #Budget2014 — INC India (@INCIndia) July 10, 2014

2.10 pm: Finance Secretary backs Modi govt's budget"Safeguards have been put in place, I think this is a huge step forward. It will bring back confidence to investors," Finance Secy A Mayaram told news agency ANI.2.05 pm: No specifics in Modi's budget, says former PM Manmohan SinghFormer Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dismissed the Modi government's maiden budget saying it had no plans for the future of the country."Just like railway budget, there are no specifics in this budget... there are no roadmaps," Singh said.Former minister and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also dismissed the budget saying there were no measures to fix the economy."No sense of direction or measures to improve the situation of inflation. I'll have to study figures in detail," Tharoor said.1.59 pm: Poor friendly, women friendly, says Former BJP president SinghPraising his government's maiden budget speech, Rajnath Singh said the budget had something positive for all sections of society."Poor friendly, youth friendly, farmer friendly, women friendly and senior citizen friendly," the former BJP President told reporters soon after leaving Parliament.

In a clear move to achieve fiscal consolidation and economic recovery the Union Budget has made many concrete announcements. — Rajnath Singh (@BJPRajnathSingh) July 10, 2014

I congratulate the Finance Minister Shri @arunjaitley for presenting a ‘Wholesome Budget’ which deserves ‘Fulsome Praise’. — Rajnath Singh (@BJPRajnathSingh) July 10, 2014

1.43 pm: Aam Aadmi Party not impressed with Modi govt's budgetFormer journalist and AAP spokesperson Ashutosh said the union budget was highly mediocre, questioning what in the budget was so different from the UPA. "It's just an extension of UPA policies," he tweeted.

People voted for change not for the extension of UPA policies. People are feeling cheated . "There are no measures to control inflation in Budget 2014, it's very disappointing," AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said.

Khoda pahad,nikli choohiya-Arvind Kejriwal on #Budget2014 pic.twitter.com/O7BbCHx1Cn — ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2014

— ashutosh (@ashutosh83B) July 10, 2014

Even pro govt experts are struggling to appreciate and say good things about Budget. Hugely mediocre. — ashutosh (@ashutosh83B) July 10, 2014

There is not a single big ticket idea which world was expecting. Where is the change in Budget?Just an extension of UPA policies. — ashutosh (@ashutosh83B) July 10, 2014

First budget of a party in power that made big promises and got clear majority turned out to be a damp squib. — Yogendra Yadav (@AapYogendra) July 10, 2014

1.37 pm: Time for NAC-like NGOs to go, tweets Madhu KishwarPraising Jaitley's decision not to indulge in populism and 'pro-poor subsidies', Modi supporter Madhu Kishwar took the opportunity to take on NAC and NGOs working in the social sector saying it was time for them to go.

Time for NAC geniuses who wrecked economy in the name of social justice & pro poor subsidies to take retirement. We've had enf of NGO wisdom — Madhu Kishwar (@madhukishwar) July 10, 2014

1.35 pm: BJP defends budget, says it's what the country needsVeteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi had this to say about Narendra Modi's maiden budget: "Well, at last we get what this country needs. This budget will cater to all the classes of society."

#ModiBudget makes no. of provisions for youth- Internet Connectivity, AIIMS IIMs IITs, Agri Universities,skill devt, sports academies...... — Shahnawaz Hussain (@ShahnawazBJP) July 10, 2014

1.34 pm: Modi govt budget has nothing new, says Sonia Gandhi"There is nothing new, they have merely continued our schemes," Congress President Sonia Gandhi said soon after leaving Parliament.1.25 pm: No vision, no roadmap in NDA's budget, says CongressIn its first reaction to Modi government's maiden budget, Congress today said it lacked a vision for the future."High on rhetoric, short on delivery. No vision and no roadmap," Congress leader Manish Tewari said.

This #Budget2014 doesnt benefit the common man: Rajeev Shukla, Congress — ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2014

1.15 pm: Parliamentarian angry as excise duty on tobacco raised to 72%Forget Twitter, Parliamentarians protested the government's move to hike excise duty on tobacco from 11 percent to 72 percent.The moment Jaitley made the announcement, there was uproar in the Lower House of Parliament. It was indeed a smart move for Jaitley to leave this announcement to the last five minutes of his rather long budget speech.1.00 pm: Jaitley's LTCG decision to hit Mutual funds?

#budget2014 mutual fund fixed income schemes long term capital gains up 10% to 20% and holding period 12months to 36months will hit mfs — Arjun Parthasarathy (@arjunparthasara) July 10, 2014

Long-term capital gains on mutual funds up from 10% to 20%? Not happy — Ashok Malik (@MalikAshok) July 10, 2014

The Great Indian FMP game has been royally screwed... — Vivek Kaul (@kaul_vivek) July 10, 2014

12.43 pm: Jaitley's Northeast announcement's get thumbs-up

Oh, super that the North Eastern region is getting more investment. Hope it doesnt continue to be ignored — Nikhil Pahwa (@nixxin) July 10, 2014

Big push for roads: investment in NHAI of Rs37,850 crore. will include Rs3,000 crore for the north-east #Budget2014 — Anil Padmanabhan (@capitalcalculus) July 10, 2014

Organic farming will be promoted in North East; Sports University to be set up in Manipur: FM — News Time Assam (@NewsTimeAssam) July 10, 2014

12.38 pm: Modi govt's speech sounds like a manifesto, feels filmmaker Hansal Mehta

BJP must get out of election mode now. The budget still sounds like a manifesto. #Budget2014 — Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) July 10, 2014

12.25 pm: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's decision to allot Rs 200 crore, yes Rs 200 crore to the construction of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's Statue of Unity has Twitter outraged.https://twitter.com/sunitanar/status/487123232315559937https://twitter.com/rameshsrivats/status/487125954607591425https://twitter.com/kavitharao/status/487126737575108608

“Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value.” ~ @JoeBiden. — Nigel Britto (@NigelBritto) July 10, 2014

12.20 pm: BJP MP Meenakashi Lekhi's reaction to Jaitley's speech?https://twitter.com/M_Lekhi/status/48712507666846105612.15 pm: No ache din this budget?Modi's ache din promise is unlikely to be fulfilled this fiscal year, feels CNBC-TV18 Storyboard editor Anant Rangaswami.https://twitter.com/AnantRangaswami/status/48712343854949171212.10 pm: Sports journalist Venkath Ananth had this to offer to Arun Jaitleyhttps://twitter.com/venkatananth/status/48712221319614873712.06 pm "Jaitley should switch from saying 'I propose' to 'I have been instructed to', says Modi support Madhu Kishwar who tweeted suggesting that this budget had Modi written all over it.https://twitter.com/madhukishwar/status/48712220710182502412.03 pm: Meanwhile, Hindustan Times Business columnist Madhavan Narayan had this to say.https://twitter.com/madversity/status/48712120334195916812.00 pm: More money to co-operatives, regressive?Mint Money editor Monika Halan certainly thinks so.https://twitter.com/monikahalan/status/48712076324623564811. 57 am: Markets not impressed with Jaitley's budget?Hindustan Times editor Nicholas Daves tweeted out this image of the Sensex, which clearly does not seem to be in its best while Jaitley is reading out the Modi government's maiden speech.https://twitter.com/NicDawes/status/48712075789008896211.45 am: Jaitley takes a 5-minute breakDeputy Managing Editor of Mint Anil Padmanabhan reacting to the budget said it was much like the rail budget, lot of talk of inclusion, but not inclusive in practice.https://twitter.com/capitalcalculus/status/487119029383872512https://twitter.com/mint_ed/status/48712029771664179311.30 am: Jaitley's REITs sees real-estate developers' shares riseWith Jaitley announcing that he will provide necessary incentives for introducing real estate investment trusts, shares of real estate developer DLF was trading 1.7 percent higher."Incentive to REITs through tax pass through is positive for Oberoi, Prestige estate and Brigade," said Vinay Khattar, Edelweiss Financial Services | Head-Research on CNBC-TV18.11.15 am: Hope investors will repose faith in us, says FMPresenting his budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said: "I hope the investor community both in India and outside will repose their faith and participate in our growth story."https://twitter.com/mint_ed/statuses/48711070627869491211.07 am: Budget will be just like the rail one, says BJDBJD MP Jay Panda today said the government in all likelihood will follow the same approach as it did in the Railway budget."I think the same approach will be taken in Budget 2014 as the rail budget: Jay Panda said.11.05 am: People must benefit, says Rahul BajajMinutes before Jaitley began his budget speech, industry leader Rahul Bajaj said the Modi government must focus on the poor."Poor people should benefit, if they won't benefit the rich people won't benefit", Rahul Bajaj, chairman of the Bajaj Group said.10.51 am: Jaitley briefs President Pranab, set to present Budget 2014Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, along with his MoS and ministry officials, briefed President Pranab on the key points of the NDA government's budget.Mukherjee had been the finance minister under the previous UPA government till he resigned and successfully contested the presidential elections.https://twitter.com/RashtrapatiBhvn/status/48710085066634035310.40 am: This will be a budget of hope, says BJPBJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has said his government's budget will be one of progress and trust and will ensure the growth of this country."Poori umeed hain ki ye Budget 2014 vikaas aur vishwaas ka budget hoga,(I'm very hopeful that this budget will be one with a focus on progress and trust," Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.10.30 am: Jaitley's budget will make a resurgent India, says hopeful ICAIThe Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has expressed hope that Finance Minister Jaitley will make long and short term goals as well as make a resurgent India. K Raghu, President of ICAI was speaking to reporters ahead of the Budget.10.00 am: Need incentives for investments in India, says CIIIndustry body Confederation of Indian Industries today said the budget should propose measures to reduce inflation in the country.""We need to bring down inflation... investment incentive is also needed," Chandrajit Banerjee, DG, CII , said when asked for his expectations from Jaitley's budget.Former Mos Finance JD Seelam said the Modi government's budget should outline a vision for the country's future.

Fiscal deficit needs to be looked at, needs to be a vision for the country: JD Seelam (Frmr MoS Finance) on expectations from #Budget2014 — ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2014

9.46 am: Will Jaitley's budget meet current challenges? asks Bedi Former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, who is a vocal Modi supporter, today expressed hope that Jaitley's budget will be one that takes everyone forward. "Will FM Jaitely present a budget which takes us all forward. One which challenges the present and invests and secures the future?" she tweeted.

Will FM Jaitely present a budget which takes us all forward. One which challenges the present and invests and secures the future? — Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) July 10, 2014

9.41 am: Budget won't be pro-poor, says NCPGeneral Secretary of the NCP Tariq Anwar, an ally of the UPA, also echoed the views expressed by the SP, saying he does not expect the Modi budget to please the poor of the country."I dont think it will be a pro-poor budget. The hope is less," Anwar said.His colleague in the NCP, Majeed Memon said the budget ought to take everyone forward. "People from every state and people from every strata of the society," Memon said.9.30 am: 'Expect indication of how govt will revive economy'Former Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Virmani speaking ahead of the Budget expressed hope that Jaitley would be able to highlight how the new government plans to revive the ailing Indian economy."I'm expecting an indication of how the government will put economy back on higher growth path," Virmani said.9.20 am: Budget will please only few industrialists, says SPEven before the Modi government could present its maiden budget, Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agarwal slammed the government saying the budget will please only a few industrialists in the country."I feel that the budget will exist only to serve few industrialists," Agarwal told news agency ANI.

I feel that the budget will exist only to serve few industrialists: Naresh Agarwal (SP) #Budget2014 pic.twitter.com/rBfTTqFKFb — ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2014

9.05 am: Markets open flat ahead of Budget presentation Indian equity markets opened flat on Thursday ahead of Arun Jaitley's maiden Union budget. The rupee, however, opened stronger at 59.67 against the US dollar. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is set to present the Narendra Modi government's first national budget for today in an exercise that will be watched and analysed closely across sectors to ascertain what steps the new government takes to revive the Indian economy and spur growth.[caption id="attachment_1611899" align="alignleft" width="380"] Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. PTI[/caption]On Wednesday, The Economic Survey released by the government called for tough measures to shore up public finances and reduce inflation, reinforcing hopes that Modi and Jaitley will deliver a non-populist, prudent budget today. But some analysts have also warned that investors may be expecting too much out of the budget and they worry that markets could be hit at any hint of disappointment. While the Budget may introduce bold reforms, no major changes are expected in the tax structure of the economy.

Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley leaves for the Rashtrapati Bhawan pic.twitter.com/vaAOUm0wEp — ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2014