The most significant achievement claimed by the finance ministry, which has gone beyond announcement, constitution of a task force or introduction of a bill, to full accomplishment would appear to be institution of a trust-based system of customs clearance at three Customs stations, apart from a constitutional amendment to explicitly include services as a source of tax revenue for the Centre.

Rather remarkably, the far-reaching reform of the textile sector induced through completion of the cenvat chain in the sector by bringing powerlooms and yarn manufacturers under the tax net, and thereby ending the earlier crippling bias against the organised mill sector, does not figure in the list of reform measures initiated in the Budget.

At the other end of the spectrum in the progress report presented today on reform measures announced in this year''s budget is the obfuscation of virtual failure on the debt swap proposal for banks - the government got very poor response from the banks. Measures that have stayed at the level of announcement include the new pension scheme for fresh entrants to the civil service, creation of a new pension fund regulator.