EXHIBIT 10 B1

                  CERTIFICATION OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER

                                 CERTIFICATIONS

I, Ronald E. Robison, certify that:

        1. I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of Morgan Stanley Balanced
Income Fund;

        2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
           statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
           necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
           under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to
           the period covered by this report;

        3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
           information included in this report, fairly present in all material
           respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes in
           net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required
           to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of, and
           for, the periods presented in this report;

        4. The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for
           establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
           defined in Rule 30a-2(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940)
           for the registrant and have:

        a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that
           material information relating to the registrant, including its
           consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
           entities, particularly during the period in which this report is
           being prepared;

        b) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
           and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date
           of this report (the "Evaluation Date"); and


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        c) presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of
           the disclosure controls and procedures based on our evaluation as of
           the Evaluation Date;

        5. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed,
           based on our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and
           the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or
           persons performing the equivalent functions):

        a) all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal
           controls which could adversely affect the registrant's ability to
           record, process, summarize, and report financial data and have
           identified for the registrant's auditors any material weaknesses in
           internal controls; and

        b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
           employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
           controls; and

        6. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have indicated in
           this report whether or not there were significant changes in internal
           controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal
           controls subsequent to the date of our most recent evaluation,
           including any corrective actions with regard to significant
           deficiencies and material weaknesses.

        Date: September 22, 2003



                                                 Ronald E. Robison

                                                 Principal Executive Officer



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                                                                   EXHIBIT 10 B2

                  CERTIFICATION OF PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL OFFICER

                                 CERTIFICATIONS

I, Francis Smith, certify that:

        1. I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of Morgan Stanley Balanced
Income Fund;

        2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
           statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
           necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
           under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to
           the period covered by this report;

        3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
           information included in this report, fairly present in all material
           respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes in
           net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required
           to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of, and
           for, the periods presented in this report;

        4. The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for
           establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
           defined in Rule 30a-2(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940)
           for the registrant and have:

        (i)   designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that
              material information relating to the registrant, including its
              consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within
              those entities, particularly during the period in which this
              report is being prepared;

        (ii)  evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
              controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the
              filing date of this report (the "Evaluation Date"); and

        (iii) presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness
              of the disclosure controls and procedures based on our evaluation
              as of the Evaluation Date;

        5. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed,
           based on our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and
           the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or
           persons performing the equivalent functions):


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        a) all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal
           controls which could adversely affect the registrant's ability to
           record, process, summarize, and report financial data and have
           identified for the registrant's auditors any material weaknesses in
           internal controls; and

        b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
           employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
           controls; and

        6. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have indicated in
           this report whether or not there were significant changes in internal
           controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal
           controls subsequent to the date of our most recent evaluation,
           including any corrective actions with regard to significant
           deficiencies and material weaknesses.

        Date: September 22, 2003



                                            Francis Smith

                                            Principal Financial Officer


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