ANALYSTS VIEW - India's 2008/09 budget

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram on Friday presented the fifth and final full budget of the ruling coalition before it faces elections due by May 2009.

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COMMENTARY:

ABHEEK BARUA, CHIEF ECONOMIST, HDFC BANK, DELHI:

"It's focused on harnessing inflation -- acknowledges the possibility of lower growth, but does not take any explicit expansionary measures.

"In fact, reducing the fiscal deficit to a level below the FRBM target could be seen as a measure to try and reduce aggregate demand.

"And excise duty cuts are also, I think, geared to serve the same purpose of bringing in some relief on the price front.

SUDHIR KAPADIA, HEAD OF TAX, REGULATORY SERVICES KPMG, MUMBAI: