BUDGET 2000
Govt 'fails' to keep word, Sensex crashes
'The government has thrown in the towel,' P Chidambaram, former Union finance minister, told rediff.com 'They have lost control over the fiscal situation. They have run out of ideas. I suspect they are too proud to take ideas from others.'

Tougher steps will follow, Sinha promises
The finance minister said the Budget has continued economic reforms while directly dealing with poverty and unemployment.

The first cut: lack of fiscal fitness
Presenting the first of the rediff.com-Dun & Bradstreet India special Budget Impact series.

A matter of life and debt
Dun & Bradstreet says burgeoning interest payments may lead the government to a point of no-return.

Taxes: A ready reckoner
What to be happy about: Cellphones, computers, photographic equipment, electronic goods will be cheaper. What to be sad about: Surcharge on income tax has not dropped, but has gone up in the highest bracket.

Interest outgo biggest expense
How the government earns a rupee and spends it.

The Budget, in Real Audio
Listen to Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha.

Budget favours traditional, infotech sectors
Sinha promised to sustain efforts to remove infrastructure bottlenecks.

Defence spending up as never before
Sinha raised the military budget by Rs 130 billion to Rs 585.87 billion.

Govt to shed equity in nationalised banks
But this will be done without changing the public character of the banks by ensuring that the shares sold are widely held.

IT, telecom, entertainment get rebates
Sinha has provided a new impetus to the fast-emerging convergence revolution.

Single-rate CENVAT replaces MODVAT
Sinha said the central value-added tax would provide long-term stability, remove uncertainty in the minds of industry and eliminate disputes of classification.

Peak rate of customs duty reduced by 5%
The finance minister also reduced the number of slabs from five to four: 5, 15, 25 and 35 per cent.

BUDGET ANALYSIS
Sinha delivers on promise to 'bite the bullet'
As the market digests the Budget, the reaction over the next few days will be mature and a rally cannot be ruled out. In a sense, the market has discounted most of the proposals, says R C Murthy.

THE BUDGET CHATS
'The govt has lost control over the fiscal situation'
Former Union finance minister P Chidambaram.

'This Budget is retrograde'
Former Union minister Dr Subramanian Swamy.

'It's a mixed Budget as far as software and IT are concerned'
Infosys chairman N R Narayana Murthy.

'There has been an acknowledgement that the IT and telecom industries are the key drivers of the economy'
Bharti Telecom CMD Sunil Mittal.

'That the people can live under an umbrella of security comes at a price'
Lt General (retd) Satish Nambiar, director, United Services Institute.

'We have become satisfied with $33 bn forex reserves and therefore decided to tax export incomes which is regressive'
Vikram Thapar, vice-chairman, Karam Chand Thapar & Bros.

'Income tax should have been spread evenly on all segments including agriculture and services'
Institute of Economic Growth director Dr B B Bhattacharya.

'We could still have extended exemption on taxes on the IT industry for another couple of years'
N Venkaswamy, MD, PSI Data Systems.

'In terms of the telecom sector, I would rate the Budget 7 out of 10'
Virat Bhatia, managing director of AT&T India.

'This Budget seems to be too piecemeal'
Neeraj Roy, Managing Director & CEO, Hungama.com.

'There's nothing anti-industry in the Budget'
PriceWaterhouseCoopers chief Amal Ganguli.

'The increase in FII limits and retail investor preference for equity funds will augur well'
UTI Executive Director Basudeb Sen.

'The rural housing contribution of 2.5 million houses is a good initiative'
V Suresh, chairman & managing director, Housing and Urban Development Corporation.

'It is a modern-looking Budget'
FICCI president G P Goenka.

Personal taxation: No major surprises
Taxation consultant Ganesh Jagadeesan.

SPORTS
'We are not dependent on one superstar'
'We have superstars in our own ranks, but I think we play as a team and that is the difference'. Ghulam Rajah, manager of the South African cricket team, in conversation with Faisal Shariff.

COLUMNS
Captaincy conundrum
Wasim Akram, Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara quit as captains inside the space of a month. Prem Panicker attempts to find out what prompted their decisions.

Inner strength proved decisive
Hansie Cronje looks back on the first Test between India and South Africa.

Wanted: A non-playing captain
Raghuram B makes out a case for a non-playing captain for the Indian cricket team.