Budget 2022 saw the street in large welcoming announcements made by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech as FM Sitharaman's fourth budget was seen as growth oriented and non-populist. Though It covered major sectors like Infra, real estate, agriculture, metal, telecom, sugar, logistics, capital goods, EV and green energy segments, experts point out certain disappointments too. Below are the five disappointments from the Union Budget 2022 as listed by market experts 

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1) No reduction in Gold Duty
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman disappointed gold markets by skipping to reduce custom duty on gold in the Union Budget of 2022-23, says Chirag Mehta, Sr. Fund Manager- alternative Investments, Quantum Mutual Fund. "Custom duty on gold currently stands at 10.75%, which is very high and contributes to price distortions, working against the various gold market initiatives undertaken by the government. Rationalizing the custom duty and minimizing these price distortions have been a long-standing demand of the bullion industry," said Mehta.  
2) No tweak in Personal Taxation
FM Sitharaman chose against appeasing individual taxpayers as she retained the present tax slabs in the Budget 2022-23. The major disappointment for us continued to remain on the government's focus on boosting supply side over demand, said Arvind Chari, CIO- Quantum Advisors. "We would have loved to see some balance between boosting industry and supporting individuals. The government's response in terms of some income support or a lower tax burden to individuals, who have braved lost livelihoods, lower incomes, health costs, higher oil and food prices, higher taxes on income and GST over the last two years, has been missing," said Chari.

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3) No Mention of Rural Employment: Quantum Advisors CIO Arvind Chari says another disappointment from this budget was that the announcement had no mention of rural employment, the impact on the informal enterprises and the continued divide between the formal and the informal economy. "We do recognize that higher growth will trickle down over time, however, there should have been some immediate relief to the economic segments which were impacted by the pandemic," he added.  

4) Nothing for Commodity Markets: The Union Budget 2022 was a non-event from the commodity futures markets perspective, says Pritam Patnaik, Head - Commodity, HNI and NRI Acquisition, Axis Securities. "Long-standing demands of removal or reduction of CTT, the tax treatment and reducing imports on Gold were left unaddressed in the budget," he said.  

5) Setback for Bond Market: The priority towards growth (Capex hike by 35%) means that the bond markets will see a slower fiscal consolidation and will have to face a very high level of borrowing both from the centre and states, said Arvind Chari. "In the backdrop of higher oil prices, a hawkish US FED and the pressure on the RBI to tighten monetary policy, the higher borrowing will see bond yields rising. Across the yield curve, over the course of the year, we expect bond yields to rise by 20-30 bps for now," he added.