Mr. Juzar Khorakiwala, President, IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, “Union Budget 2022-23 unveiled by the Finance Minister today has laid a blueprint for the country’s economic journey over the next 25 years. This forward-looking budget provides a direction for the country’s progress in the future and is laced with welfare orientation.
The budget highlights the progressive vision for rapid infrastructure development through the Gati Shakti program that can create millions of jobs, build world-class facilities for easy mobility of people and goods, and reduce overall transportation costs. A multimodal approach encompassing railways, roads, ports, and so on is envisaged. When implemented well, Gati Shakti will enhance the ‘ease of doing business and create potential to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country.
MSMEs are likely to benefit from the extension of ECLGS by one year till March 2023.
Financial inclusion has received a boost with the proposal to bring 100 per cent of 150,000 post offices into the Core Banking system, delivering immense benefit to the rural population.
We are glad that the Economist/Businessmen are finally giving that much importance to the Fiscal Deficit. As long as the economy grows and inflation is reasonably under control with productive expenditure, we can well live with this deficit.”
Mr. Arun Babu, General Manager, EID, Optical Devices & Instax Division, Fujifilm India, said, “This year’s Union Budget stays true to India’s dream of making an Aatma Nirbhar Bharat. With the global chip shortage in play, India benefits by putting together its local engineering and technology expertise and boosting the manufacturing sector. We’re thrilled to be a part of this exciting economy and hope for the best for consumers. India’s digital and creator economy is well on its way to thriving and showcasing the best of Indian talents on a global stage.”
Mr. Anil G Verma, Executive Director and President, Godrej & Boyce, said, “The Budget for FY 2023 holds a lot of promise for the economy. It has a thrust for the social sector with investments in primary and vocational education, provision for drinking water to reach more households and the extension of the PM Awas Yojana to provide housing. In addition, its outlay for procurement of agricultural produce will reward the farmers for their effort and put money in their hands which will help to propel consumption demand.
The focus on the logistics sector through the PM Gati Shakti plan will give a fillip to the economy. Logistics costs in India count among the highest in the world. The creation of infrastructure is the best way to reduce the costs and introduce competitiveness in the economy to serve both the domestic market and exports. The initiative of spurring investments from the private sector by taking the lead through government investments of Rs. 7.5 lakh Cr. is laudable. The PLI scheme outlay for solar modules will support the solar power generation projects currently facing steep cost increases and supply constraints. Support for domestic manufacture of capital equipment by doing away with duty exemptions is also a welcome step.
Reforms in customs administration will undoubtedly support both the SEZs and other manufacturers in the domestic tariff area. Our SEZs are vulnerable to both disruptions in the global supply chain and also the emphasis on domestic sourcing that we increasingly see overseas. Permission to sell part of the capacity in DTA while maintaining a level playing field with domestic manufacturers will enhance scale and competitiveness whilst reducing reduce vulnerability.
The economy is on a slow recovery path. This budget seeks to accelerate the growth through investments.”
Mr. Rakesh Kaul, the CEO and Whole-Time Director, Somany Home Innovation Limited, said, “Budget 2022 brings a sense of optimism and reflects the government’s continued focus on ‘Make in India’, decreasing the dependency on imports. Duty concessions to promote electronic manufacturing will help the industry sustain itself while recovering from the challenges of the pandemic. Hon’ble Finance Minister’s commitment to establishing a strong 5G ecosystem will lead to product innovations across multiple categories, including IoT-enabled appliances. We also welcome the push towards housing infrastructure as this is likely to create positive demand for consumer goods and home appliances, enabling businesses to grow.”
Mr. Sudhanshu Pokhriyal, Chief Operating Officer, Bath Products, Brilloca, said, “We welcome the initiatives announced by the Hon’ble Finance Minister towards improving the country’s overall housing infrastructure. The announcement of a high-level committee of urban planners and the use of five existing academic institutes as centres of excellence in urban planning showcases the government’s commitment to progress in a planned and sustainable manner. With an emphasis on the need for Indian’ Mega cities’ to transform into centres for economic growth, we feel there will be unique opportunities for ecosystem members to come together and build economies of scale, leading to an increase in overall employment generation.”
Ms. Anamika Pandey, Founder, NaariO, said, “COVID 19 pandemic had a significant impact on the world economy, including disruption of nations’ varied industries like manufacturing, supply chain, food processing, etc. Lockdowns did not just halt the mobility of goods, services, and humans but also pulled back the fiscal balance’s governance receipts.
From the perspective of overall macroeconomic stance, increased GST collections present a favourable picture indicating two key aspects –
Economic Recovery
Reduced anti evasions activities
Now Economic Recovery also means Financial Inclusion of the marginalized and unemployed who are contributing to the economy more than before, for instance, women- especially homemakers. It also indicates the formalization of the workforce. It aligns with Naario’s vision of empowering women and participating in the formal sector.
However, every good indication comes with some fallouts. People often ignore the differential contribution of varied sectors and direct vs indirect taxes in this overall elusive figure. Recent trends have shown that corporate taxes are compared to income taxes of non-corporates and higher indirect taxes. It is problematic as indirect taxes do not distinguish between rich and poor. It shifts the tax burden to the poor and deprived majority, which may lead to a rise in inequality and deprivation of select classes and communities.”
Mr. Sushant Gupta, Founder & CEO of SG Analytics, said, “The Union budget 2022 is certainly growth-oriented & futuristic as it covers different facets of technology and embraces digital adoption widely.
Whether it is the introduction of a New Digital Rupee or Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), legitimizing private cryptocurrencies & NFT (with 30% tax imposition on virtual assets), Digital Universities, or Digitization of Post Offices, the list is ambitious and futuristic. The thrust and focus on digital technology are certainly welcomed and appreciated.
Also, the focus on inclusive development, energy transition, and climate action is very timely and heartening as three of the four pillars of development. I wholeheartedly welcome the decision regarding the provision of green jobs and the acknowledgement of new-age entrepreneurship and its drivers.”
Mr Anish Popli, CEO & Founder of ProcMart, said, “We welcome the government’s emphasis on ‘PM’s Gati Shakti project – National Master Plan for Multi-Model connectivity’ in Budget 2022-23. It will lead to better implementation of infrastructure projects and thus a significant reduction in logistical expenses. While the logistics cost in India is 13-14 per cent, it is merely 6-8 per cent in the developed nations around the world. Being a tech-driven company, ProcMart focuses on the issues big companies face in the procurement of indirect materials. Typical indirect procurement costs lie between 10-15% of the overall revenue. Hence, even a slight reduction in this cost can significantly impact. Therefore, this is a much-needed initiative for improving the infrastructure of the supply-chain industry and easing the entire process for better movement of goods and services.
Also, as a startup, we are happy with the budget reaffirming the government’s faith in startups as significant drivers of the economy. The announcement of a surcharge on long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax is capped at 15% for all listed and unlisted companies. Extending the tax incentives to new startups will help boost venture capital and private equity investments in startups.
ProcMart, with its technology-driven initiatives, applauds the government’s focus on investments in digital infrastructures, such as the introduction of a blockchain-backed digital rupee, the inclusion of 5G and similar technologies in the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, digital platforms for skilling. We also appreciate all the measures taken for providing tax benefits to new businesses, such as the extension of the tax benefit scheme for startups until March 31, ’23, as it will assist young startups in maintaining healthier cashflows, which is crucial in the early years.”
Mr Ajit Gupta, CMD, Ajit Industries, said, “With the balanced and sensible allocation in various sectors of the economy in the current budget, the future for the packaging sector also seems very lucrative. The provisions of incentivizing exports, besides exemptions provided on various items including packaging boxes, has thrown open a window of opportunities for the packaging industry.”
Mr. Gaurav Chadha, EY Business Tax Partner, said, “Given that startups have emerged as drivers for growth, to give a further push to the sector, time limit for incorporation for an eligible startup for claiming income-tax holiday incentive has been extended by one more year to March 31, 2023.
“Reorientation of skilling framework, by the introduction of Digital DESH e-portal for skilling, upskilling & reskilling of youth, ‘One Class One TV Channel’ programme of 200 TV channels for providing supplementary education in regional languages for class 1-12 and digital university to provide access to students with world-class quality education with ISTE Standards will go a long way in bridging the urban and rural divide.”
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