It is a very responsible Budget: Lord Paul

LONDON: Describing this year's General Budget in India as "very responsible", NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul today said Finance Minister P Chidambaram has done a good job to keep everybody's confidence in the country's economy.

Commenting on the 2013-14 Budget presented by the Finance Minister yesterday, Lord Paul said, "It is a good budget under the circumstances".

"It has to be accepted that the Finance Minister has done a good job to keep confidence of everybody in the Indian economy and also tried to deal with budget deficit and still make efforts to increase growth rate," Paul, Chairman of the Caparo Group, said.

"It is a very responsible budget under the circumstances," he added.

Presenting UPA-II's last full-fledged Budget ahead of next year's general elections to net in an additional Rs 18,000 crore, Chidambaram did a tight rope walk balancing growth needs with fiscal prudence by stepping up expenditure in social sectors and cutting subsidies.