'Increase in tax exemption limit is great'

Gayatri Basu, an auditor with the government of India, was out for lunch when rediff.com caught up with her at the Bandra-Kurla Complex in suburban Mumbai.

For Gayatri, news that the income tax exception limit for women has been raised to Rs 1.9 lakh (Rs 190,000) was welcome. That was her number one concern with the Budget, she said.

As for secondary issues, she's concerned about urban infrastructure, particularly for the urban poor. She says that in cities like Mumbai, millions of residents don't even have reliable access to amenities like shelter and water.

She's glad that the allocation for these areas has been raised to Rs 3,973 crore (Rs 39.73 billion).