Finance minister P Chidambaram’s interim budget was along the expected lines for the market. The minister contained the fiscal deficit below the target and current account deficit also came in as per the estimates. The growth figure for the current financial year and the fiscal deficit for the next year were also as expected. No major populist steps were announced. The markets remained subdued as the budget did not throw up any negative or positive surprises. BSE member Ramesh Damani said in an interview to CNBC-TV18 that the budget numbers did not scare the market, especially since there were no new populist schemes announced. “He hit all the right numbers in fiscal deficit and current account deficit. Markets will be enthused for next three months,” he said. Damani said the markets have been sluggish but now that the budget is out of the way, they will now focus on the formation of the new government, adding that he expected a broad rally between elections and results in issues that would come into play around elections. [caption id=“attachment_310969” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Ramesh Damani, member BSE[/caption] According to Damani, all indicators are headed in right direction, including inflation numbers, the current account deficit, and the rupee. He said that India is not part of the Fragile Five any more and will be discriminated against in emerging markets basket, given the impact of the US Fed’s tapering will not be severely felt.