Within an hour of presenting his fifth budget, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha defended provisions of his widely disapproved budget to business today Special Correspondent Ashish Gupta. Excerpts:

Q. The initial reactions to your budget have been very adverse and business sentiment seems to have been badly affected...

A. Business sentiment will have to help itself. I have done whatever I wanted to. Now it is up to the business sentiment to respond ... Stock markets are bewafaa-there are a lot of factors responsible for their ups and down. They have been affected by the Godhra violence.

Q. The Economic Survey identified stagnant demand as one of the main causes of low economic growth. But the budget has burdened the middle-class with higher taxes and fewer exemptions. So where will the demand come from?

A. I am sorry, the demand does not come from the middle class. Last year I had given lots of tax breaks to the middle class, but demand still did not pick up. Demand must come from the rural sector, where 70 per cent of the people live. And that's where I have concentrated this year.

Q. Your last budget was hailed as a landmark one but this year there is disappointment all around...

A. Last year, I set the roadmap for the second generation of reforms. And therefore there was so much applause. Now it is time for consolidation.

Q. How would you control the fiscal deficit in an economy hit by a slowdown?

A. We have to ensure that our revenues pick up and expenditure is under control. That is what I have demonstrated in this year's budget. I have saved around Rs 11,000 crore in the expenditure budget. It is a very significant amount, and has softened the blow of revenue shortage. But the revenue shortfall is largely on account of the income tax concessions that I had given last year in the budget.

Q. You have been criticised for promising a lot more than you can deliver...

A. What is in my hands? Take the case of banking legislation to reduce the government's equity in public-sector banks to 33 per cent. It is now with the standing committee of Parliament. The budget is the budget of the government, not the budget of the finance minister alone.

Q. The implementation of most second-generation reforms depends on the states...

A. Yes. I have clearly spelt out the role of the budget. About Rs 14,000 crore is now available with the Government of India to help the states in reform-linked programmes. That's one way to provide incentives to states to reform. The state that will reform faster will get more funds.

Q. Is the role of the budget and the finance minister getting limited?

A. I don't think so. I think Part B of the budget speech should be one-page long (12 pages in Budget 2002). Because everything should be so set that people do not expect ups and downs in the budget.