Congratulating Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on delivering a budget that allows the government to continue supporting development while keeping an eye on fiscal deficit, the head of a top India-centric American business advocacy group described it as a “measured and pragmatic budget”.

Finance Minister Sitharaman unveiled a Rs 39.45 lakh crore Budget, with higher spending on highways to affordable housing with a view to fire up the key engines of the economy to sustain a world-beating recovery from the pandemic.

While she primed up spending on infrastructure to create jobs and boost economic activity, Sitharaman did not tinker with income tax slabs or tax rates.

Her budget for the fiscal year beginning April 2022 proposed a massive 35 per cent jump in capital expenditure to Rs 7.5 lakh crore, coupled with the rationalisation of customs duty, an extension of time for setting up new manufacturing companies and plans for starting a digital currency and tax crypto assets.

“The first principle is do no harm and the government has adhered to this – there are no major policy changes, which is good in the current scenario. I call this a measured and pragmatic budget. There was tremendous pressure on the government to do more given the upcoming state elections,” Mukesh Aghi, president, US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), said on Tuesday.

In a statement, Aghi said there is also the unsaid acknowledgment in the budget that coronavirus and inflation are still not behind us.

“We are pleased to see the 35 per cent increase in capital expenditure budget, which will support investment in critical infrastructure needed for business to expand and create more jobs along with the investments in public health and welfare,” he noted.

The head of USISPF also welcomed the support for “manufacturing through PLI schemes and investments in solar technology and other green infrastructure, which ties in nicely with the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, and India’s desire to lead the fight against climate change”.

Sitharaman on Tuesday proposed enhancing the funding under the PLI scheme for domestic solar cells and module manufacturing to Rs 24,000 crore from the existing Rs 4,500 crore to make India an exporting nation.

“This budget charts a credible path forward, and we applaud the government’s steady policy hand to revive and continue the path of growth for the Indian economy,” Aghi said.