Are you confused that you were watching the Oscar awards ceremonies while you should have been following India’s Union Budget? Not to worry, we give here the Academy Award lover’s guide to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s budget for 2016/17.
Spotlight: On farmers, rural jobs, organic farming, health insurance, crop insurance, social sector. (You see, assembly elections are approaching in Punjab, Assam and Tamil Nadu).
The Bear Story: What markets seem to think is happening after the budget failed to provide a stimulus for industry.
The Big Short: What bullish traders who expected Arun Jaitley’s budget to kindle a boom wish they had taken to short-sell the Nifty or Sensex.
{{/usCountry}}The Big Short: What bullish traders who expected Arun Jaitley’s budget to kindle a boom wish they had taken to short-sell the Nifty or Sensex.
{{/usCountry}}Read more: Cars, cigarettes, eating out, travel get costlier
The Revenant : Tax on cigarettes. Just when you thought it was dead and they could not tax smoking more. (Wait, are they trying to discourage intellectuals at JNU?)
Room: For real estate. Rent allowances increased. First home buying made easier with concession. Real Estate Investment Trust will not be subject to dividend distribution tax (DDT) and there is a 100% tax deduction to undertakings for construction of affordable housing .
Read more: Taxes, HRA and home loan: How Budget 2016 impacts you
Mad Max: The Fury Road: That’s what you take when you realise the government does not tax you more officially but imposes cess after cess on everything from coal to diesel cars that will pinch you somewhere.
The Hateful Eight: Those opposition party spokespeople ready with their views for the TV news channel debates on the budget. (So what if you can’t hear their voices? Noises hai na?)
Ex –Machina: Foreign Direct Investment in asset reconstruction companies. In plain English, these are the guys who can buy up big chunks of the Rs 400,000 crore bad loans that India’s public sector banks are stuck with. You know the banks badly need an ex-Machina – a special god from Greek dramas. (Wait, did someone say Rajnikanth can do it?)
Bridge of Spies: All those tax officers trying to find out how they can hook businessmen who don’t bite the bait of the new tax amnesty scheme.
The Martian: What the GST Bill feels like in the budget rush.