This is wrongly seen by naysayers as harking back to Nehruvian socialism. It is actually beneficial for citizens and businesses, with relatively better execution and targeting. We have maintained that Union Budgets are more accounting statements than policy documents. Ms Sitharamans first Budget mostly confirms this, though a few policy flashes were visible. Large corporates (and rich individuals) should reconcile with a decidedly tougher, rule-based tax regime rather than hope for sops via lobbying. For its part, Govt has toned down GST aggression (13% lower FY20 target vs. Interim est), while persisting with rising spends in agri/rural/social welfare