New Delhi: Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha no longer favours 'dream budgets' as such budgets only lead to fall in revenue growth, pushing up the fiscal deficit.

"Dream Budget, which gives away taxes and creates the feel-good factor, does not ensure revenue growth," Sinha said at the post-budget meeting at Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).

He said the 1997-98 budget presented by his predecessor P Chidambaram and the one presented by him last year were dubbed by industry as "dream" budgets that resulted in fall in revenue growth.

In 1997-98, the revenue growth dipped to 0.5 per cent from 15.5 per cent in the previous year, while this fiscal saw a lower 4.0 per cent growth in revenue as against 10 per cent in the previous year.

He said the "feel-good factor" after dream budgets did not persist long.

"I have given up as a merchant of feel good factor. The essence is to control the fundamentals," the minister added.

He regretted that government was unable to do away with various exemptions in the years when tax rates were brought down.

PTI