'It is the best possible Budget'
'It makes no tall claims but it is realistic, reasonable and takes all key issues into consideration.' Nani Palkhivala evaluates the Budget in an interview with Pritish Nandy.

Budget might pave way for foreign insurance companies
The delays in opening the insurance sector have no rational justification. It is a poor comment upon our policy process that the labour unions of existing insurance companies have been able to delay things for so long. The announcement in this Budget is obviously a good idea; it is better to have private insurance companies competing in India instead of having public sector monopolies, says Ajay Shah.

The Budget can be a great opportunity
Dilip Thakore says that India's two most important problems are mass illiteracy, which hurt productivity, and the public sector enterprises, which run mostly in losses and consume scarce resources.

'Expect an economic explosion on June 1'
Mahesh Nair points out how, after Pokhran, the government went into an economic overdrive, and says that the Budget will be another blast to boost foreign investment.

Bechtel, Mitsubishi must storm India
The entry of such construction industry giants needs to be encouraged. False notions of unwarranted national pride and self-reliance which have deprived the overwhelming majority of the most basic necessity of housing for over four decades need to be given a quick and speedy burial, writes Dilip Thakore.