Budget 2024: States, Private Capex Need To Do 'Bulk Of Heavy Lifting', Says Ravi Dharamshi

State governments and private capital expenditure will have to take the bulk of the heavy lifting as the Union government targets bringing the cost of capital down, according to ValueQuest's Ravi Dharamshi.

"From an equity market perspective, we were looking at it from a credibility and continuity aspect, and I think on both fronts, the budget has delivered," Dharamshi, founder of ValueQuest Investment Advisors Pvt., told NDTV Profit on Thursday.

There is credibility in the revenue numbers and tax buoyancy, with a positive surprise in the deficit numbers, he said. "The mantle is now passed to the RBI, and the upcoming elections in India and the U.S. are going to determine how equity markets are going to move."

While presenting the interim budget 2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman pegged the fiscal deficit target at 5.1% for the next financial year, with an aim to reduce it to 4.5% by FY26. For the current fiscal, it was revised to 5.8%.

The Union government cannot be doing most of the heavy lifting, and the mix has to change, he said. "It will be the state government and private capex that will have to do the bulk of the heavy lifting."

The central government has laid the groundwork in terms of bringing the cost of capital down, building confidence in business, and providing policies that are supportive of particular sectors, he said.

Global confidence on India's growth is also high, and "so, I don't see any missing piece in terms of private capex picking up", he said.

The government has done its part and has passed the mantle to the RBI to start implementing its monetary policies, he said. "The most important thing is the liquidity deficit we are facing right now."

There is some noise about affordable housing in the budget, but the weak link is still rural consumption and exports, he said. "I don't think enough has been done for me to say that the trend is going to change."