From the Editor: March 29, 2015

The expectations from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's first full-year Budget were so high that he was bound to disappoint quite a few people no matter what he did. Before the Budget, there was a group of economists which insisted that he should stick to the path of fiscal discipline. And there were others who insisted equally vehemently that what the economy needed most was a stimulus of some sort that would spur growth - and that fiscal discipline could be postponed for a year or two. Individual taxpayers expected many tax benefits. Corporations expected both a more benign tax regime as well as sops that would help new investments. Foreign investors had their own set of expectations. And every industry had a long list of demands.

The expectations from the finance minister were higher than those his predecessors faced because of several reasons. One, he was part of a government that had won absolute majority in the Lok Sabha, and, therefore, he did not have to deal with the unreasonable demands of allies with different economic agendas. Equally important, the crash in global crude prices had given him an unexpected cushion in his finances. Also, inflation was coming down quite sharply, and growth numbers were looking up - even if the latter was because of a change of methodology.

Few people paid any attention to the fact that the revenue collection of the government was down, and that meant there was a limit to the number of things the finance minister could do in the Budget, especially when it came to spending money for spurring growth. Also, while the government does enjoy a vast majority in the Lok Sabha, it still needs to navigate its bills through the Rajya Sabha where it is outnumbered by the Opposition.

As it turned out, the finance minister presented a fairly sensible Budget. That even his critics agree. He unveiled a number of small initiatives that would help the economy and attract investors. He did not try to reform all taxes or slash subsidies dramatically in the first year. He took a moderate approach.

Were there more things he could have done, bolder steps he could have taken? Probably. On the other hand, what he has done is not bad either. His focus on infrastructure is bound to have both short-term and long-term benefits for the economy and the overall competitiveness of our companies. He is also not ignoring the poor - the universal insurance scheme that he proposed was sorely needed.

To understand both the good and the bad of the Budget, read 'For a few Rupees More'. Apart from expert analysis and the post-Budget panel discussion with a group of eminent economists, we also have an interview with Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha, who explains the logic behind the Budget proposals.

Our cover story this issue is on Hyundai, which is having its best year ever in the country. The Korean company is the only automaker that got its calculations right and it is, so far, the only credible competitor to Maruti Suzuki. At the same time, it still has a long way to go before it can come close to Maruti's overwhelming market share of the Indian car market. Executive Editor Suveen Sinha looks at the journey of Hyundai so far, and what it plans to do now.