The Union Budget 2020, presented by the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has benefited the Aam Aadmi, farmers in general. But despite this, the government has failed to meet the expectations of some sectors. Here are the excerpts of some industry captains:
M. R. Jaishankar, Chairman & Managing Director, Brigade Group
The budget is high on vision but in the short term, it would have been better to give more benefits to the citizen to increase demand.
For the Real Estate sector which is undergoing major challenges for the past 3-4 years, the budget has fallen short of expectations. The announcements for the sector were only an extension of the existing exemptions by a year. We wish the FM had increased the threshold for affordable housing definition from Rs 45 L to Rs.60 L. Also the SEZ sunset clause deserved an extension by a year or two.
For the corporate sector, the removal of the Dividend Distribution Tax is welcome.
Gaurav Mehndiratta, Partner, Corporate & International Tax, KPMG India
Longest budget speech with aspirations, economy, and care as its pillars has something for both corporates as DDT relief and individuals as rejigging in tax slabs
Budget 2020, primarily important being the first budget at the outset of the new decade opened on a positive note especially in the wake of economic slowdown and unemployment concerns. Highlighting three main pillars of the budget — aspirational India, economic development and caring society —the focus of the budget was to “boost the income and purchasing power of the farmers and common man”.
On a direct tax front, substantial reduction of slab rates and scrapping of dividend distribution tax indicates the continuous efforts of the government to extend the rate cut benefit to all the taxpayers including individuals and corporates. Further, the scheme for legacy dispute resolution and promoting the concept of “taxpayer charter” is a welcome move towards simplifying the decades-long complex income tax regime.
The speech also focused on renewable energy and air pollution controlling measures including harnessing solar power called upon the promise for the greener society. In wholesome, the longest budget speech of Indian history was a whopping relief for investors, both domestic and foreign, as well as farmers and the middle class.
Anil Talreja, Partner, Deloitte India
“The Finance Minister stays committed to beat critics by announcing digital refunds of duties and taxes to exporters. This will go a long way in swaying India to be an export-oriented economy and will massively tilt the balance of foreign exchange favorably.”
Aksh Vashisth, Analyst, Chemicals, IndiaNivesh
“Focus on promoting traditional organic and other innovative fertilizer to change incentive regime which promotes the use of chemical fertilizers. This comes in after the govt. stressed on zero budget farming in the previous budget. Negative for fertilizer companies as zero-budget farming significantly cuts down on agri-input consumption. However, the concept is still in the nascent stage as the lack of use of chemical inputs results in lower yield an production. The concept is being pioneered in AP and has received mixed reviews from farmers.”
Mekhla Anand, Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
“The increase in GST collections is indeed heartening. It can only be hoped that this is not a short term spike based on the aggressive focus on GST recoveries but a trend that remains consistent in the months to come and signals an economy in recovery.”
Nishanth Chandran, Founder & CEO, TenderCuts
“We welcome the moves proposed by the government to introduce special measures for perishable goods in Budget 2020. Measures like adding refrigerated coaches in trains for transportation of perishable goods like milk, meat and fish will be a game-changer for the meat retailer industry. Also, the government’s steps to boost fish production to 200 lakh tonnes by 2022-2023 is going to bring about a cheer to the marine farmers. Skill development fund allocation by the government for the youth in the rural sector to provide jobs in the fisheries segment are the steps that were required to boost the meat and seafood retail, as well as enhance the rural sentiments and provide more opportunities for growth. The seamless national cold supply chain for perishables through the PPP Model for swift transportation on national and international routes is a welcome change to cater to the demands of the domestic as well as global markets.”
Pranay Bhatia, Partner & Leader/Tax & Regulatory Services, BDO India
“By reducing GST on household consumption items, families have benefited and they have to incur fewer expenses for essentials. Announcement of various initiatives for warehousing and transport will certainly boost the ground-root economy leading to an overall positive push.”
Gunjan Prabhakaran, Partner/Indirect Tax, BDO India
“E-way bill mechanism is a great respite and has resulted in improving turnaround time drastically for the logistics industry as a whole.”
Prathap C. Reddy, Apollo Hospitals Group Chairman
A farsighted budget, it is commendable that the FM has announced innovative initiatives that will enhance ease of living, improve the health quotient and boost opportunities for education & job creation, for all sections of our society and meet the expectations of an aspirational India.
Harsh Goenka, RPG Enterprises Chairman
Amidst global turbulence and nations dealing with bushfires & the coronavirus, Ms. Sitharaman has looked to craft a granular long term strategy to focus on vital issues.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Biocon CMD
“Directionally, it is a sound Budget and I am happy to see the government’s focus on reviving economic growth. The proposed amendments to the Companies Act for removing criminal action in case of tax disputes is a step towards infusing trust among India Inc, she added.
Pawan Goenka, Mahindra & Mahindra MD
Right areas of thrust for manufacturing – to be part of GVC, attract investment in electronics, focus on quality and facilitate export. Urgent implementation will be key.
Rakesh Srivastava, Nissan India Managing Director
On the Macro-economic viewpoint, It’s a decent Reset, Reform & Caring budget with medium to long term objectives, laying the foundation for the coming budgets. The government’s focus on building a vibrant & dynamic economy by keeping a check on the inflation bodes well for the manufacturing especially the auto sector. The capital infusion into the PSU banks & tax reforms will encourage more liquidity in the marketplace. The budget’s push on boosting infrastructure & aiding the rural economy will help to counter the auto slow down.
From the Consumer perspective, The budget is a caring step towards benefitting the end-user & uplifting the consumer sentiment amid a challenging economic environment. It will build consumer confidence with the new optional income tax regime offering relief & create the impetus to purchasing power. Optimistic about the government’s support for the rural economy towards increasing investment & consumption. Overall the budget will build investor confidence in multiple segments while promoting consumerism putting more money in the pockets.
No substantial relief visible for the telecom sector in Budget: COAI
The crisis-ridden telecom industry on Saturday expressed disappointment at the Budget not spelling out any substantial relief for the ailing sector, which is saddled with Rs 1.47 lakh crore in unpaid statutory dues.
“From what we have seen so far, there appears to be no substantial relief for the telecom sector. Of course, we are waiting to see the details,” Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) Director General Rajan Mathews.
Mr. Mathews said that telecom not being included in the definition of infrastructure was a disappointment for the industry.
The budget didn’t meet auto industry expectations: Rajan Wadhera, president, SIAM
“The Indian automobile industry was looking forward to some direct benefits in the budget, which could have helped in reviving demand in the context of the current slowdown and huge investments made by the Industry for the transition to BS-6 and from that aspect, the Budget speech was not what we were expecting.
“On behalf of the automobile industry, SIAM had made specific recommendations on steps that could revive demand like an Incentive-based vehicle scrappage scheme; budget allocation for diesel buses procurement by STUs and NIL customs duty for lithium-ion batteries doesn’t seem to have been considered, although we are yet to go through all the fine prints.
“The increase in customs duty for CKDs and SKDs of electric vehicles and CBUs of Commercial vehicles, however, are positive steps for Make in India. The announcements made for rural economy and infrastructural development are some positives and we are hopeful to see quick execution on the ground, since it can act as an enabler for increased economic activity and hence increase in vehicle demand.”
A big step in the right direction is NBFCs being granted access to join the TreDS platform: Nirav Choksi – CEO & Co-Founder, CredAble
“The Union budget 2020 has been broad-based focus on infrastructure, future technologies, essentially quantum technologies, development airports for regional connectivity is a big step. Some salient points & key take away for Fintech – NBFCs were Amendments of various sections to enable & extend invoice financing to MSMEs which would expand the overall invoice financing pie. This will ensure sufficient supply chain liquidity cushion & optimal working capital, app-based invoice financing is a step in the right direction which will enable us to correct the skewed balance of mismatched payables & receivables across MSMEs, SMEs across industries. What is also welcome is enabling access to the NBFCs to a wider capital base & bolstering of the partial credit guarantee,Quasi equity or subordinated debt approved for banks to lend to MSME sectors, specifically from SIDBI, will help the MSME withstand the current environment & grow. A big step in the right direction is NBFCs being granted access to join the TreDS platform which will let MSMEs have instant access to ready-to-lend NBFCs. Net net, cautiously optimistic is how I would view this in the short to medium term. There remains a great opportunity for us finance the supply chain wheel of India technologically & we are just beginning scratching the surface.”
