Post the Union Budget, we talked to Mr. Shashank Patkar, CFO of Geometric Software Solutions (GSS), in order to get his views. This is what he has to say.

"For the IT sector specifically, no major changes have been proposed. One good move in this budget has been the removal of the fringe benefits tax (FBT) on Superannuation contributions upto Rs 100,000. This is good for GSS, because it has a superannuation scheme.

It has been a good budget overall. There have been three major positives in my view. First, the focus on education, which will be a positive over the longer term, since India's strength is skilled manpower and it should help in increasing the availability of this all-important resource, which will be a positive for not just the IT sector, but all sectors. Second is the focus on manufacturing, which will also indirectly help IT, which will be good for GSS because of more PLM investments expected in the country, going forward. The third positive point in the budget is the focus on infrastructure, which has a high multiplier effect.

All in all, I would say it is a good, focussed budget. One good thing is that the FM is not just doing everything in the budget, he is taking steps to boost the economy throughout the year, which is, in a way, taking some of the attention away from the budget."

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