many congratulations for, you know, ensuring that there is the revenue targets have been met. And that's why the fiscal deficit also has really been able to achieve what it has in terms of 5.8. But it must have been difficult for you in terms of ensuring compliance. So I wanted to first go on to direct taxation. Why did you decide? Is it just because in an election year, many people, uh, you know, the political leadership always likes to give the middle class a little bit of a more? Uh uh, you know, in terms of direct access and some kind of relief, But you'll stay the course. Why did you do that? Well, as you said, uh, see, it was, uh, an interim budget and, uh, moreover, uh, the benefits or, uh uh, changes in taxation. Taxation rates as well as the procedures should be determined on the basis of need. There was a felt need last year. You are aware it was not an election year, but still, uh, there was a felt need. It had been long that the tax rates had not been changed. And so this is the need, you know, it was done last year. And it's not in our interest to keep changing tax rates too often both for taxpayers as well as for the tax authorities, because there is a virtue in stability and tax certainty which the government has been pursuing. And so, uh, it was, uh, it was felt that we should continue, you know, with the same rates. You are aware that, uh, major changes. Major overhaul was made on the personal income tax rate structure, especially for the new tax regime. And it had been only one year. We had not even got, uh uh, the the returns for that particular year. It would have been rather premature if he had gone in for any any changes on the direct taxes. But coming back to the new regime that you started and that was, you know, you've really given an incentive for people to go into the new tax regime. What has been your you know, what is your analysis of how people have? Have they really taken it on? Is that there been a a lot of people shifting towards the new tax regime? Or is it just a young, pure young India which is really wanting to achieve. It's It's it's still early to say As I said, It's early, you know, because I do not have data for that. The returns start coming in in, you know, next year. So it will only be, uh, you know, somewhere in June or July that we will have figures as to what proportion of our taxpayers have shifted to the new tax regime. But Anecdotically and I have been speaking to, you know, people like you and others you know who meet we are quite confident that a majority more than 50% should at least, uh, shift to this new tax regime.
