The Union Budget 2021-22 delivered and presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 1 February 2021 has something for everyone. It was her third budget. This year’s budget was much awaited by every Indian, as it revolves around relief and recovery from last year, and the losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Union budget this year stands on six pillars, namely health and well-being, physical and financial capital and infrastructure, inclusive development for aspirational India, reinvigorating human capital, innovation and R&D and ‘Minimum Government and Maximum Governance’.
After watching the two-hour-long budget presentation, my observation is that the government is on the right track in its efforts to swiftly bring the Indian economy back to normalcy.
Barometers traded with robust gains in afternoon trade. At 13:31 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 1836.11 points or 3.97% to 48,121.88. The Nifty 50 index surged 507.90 points or 3.73% to 14,142.50.
Shares rallied as there was no COVID-19 tax in the Union Budget. The budget offered huge stimulus to infrastructure, capex, healthcare and boosted the credit flow by taking out the toxic assets of the banking system and supported growth on an overall basis.
In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 2.19% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 1.39%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1773 shares rose and 1022 shares fell. A total of 177 shares were unchanged.
COVID-19 vaccine
Sitharaman announced Rs 2,83,846 lakh crores for the health and wellness sector which will also include Rs 35,000 crores for COVID-19 vaccines and also said that she is committed to spending more if needed. This money will be used for the development and distribution of the vaccines. She said this amounts to a 137 percent increase in the health allocations from the previous FY.
The Finance Minister said that two new COVID-19 vaccines will soon be announced without making any mention of which ones. Currently, India has given restricted emergency use approvals to two vaccines - the indigenously made Covaxin made by Bharat Biotech and Oxford s Covishield manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
Barometers traded with robust gains in afternoon trade. At 12:53 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 1225 points or 2.65% at 47,511.07. The Nifty 50 index surged 346.2 points or 2.54% at 13,980.45.
Shares rallied after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday proposed a sharp rise in capital expenditure for the next fiscal to Rs 5.54 lakh crore, from Rs 4.39 lakh crore in the current financial year.
In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.51% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.41%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1587 shares rose and 1123 shares fell. A total of 188 shares were unchanged.