- The increase in the agriculture credit target to Rs 20 lakh crore also shows the government’s commitment to crores of farmers: Haresh Kathrotiya, MD, GM Tea Packers (Tulsi Tea)
- The budget supports innovation and entrepreneurship, the key growth drivers of the economy: Mihir Joshi, CEO, GVFL
- The Budget for 2023-24 kept its focus on expanding Capex showing that the Modi government’s priorities are building roads, highways, and railway lines: Kshitij Patel, Chairman, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Gujarat Branch
- On the whole, it is a very forward-looking budget that will promote the inclusive growth of industries: Amit Saluja, Centre Head of NASSCOM CoE, Gandhinagar
NE BUSINESS BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, FEB 1
Industry captains from the real estate, finance, venture capital, banking, MSMEs, FMCG as well as chambers of commerce on Wednesday commented Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s fifth consecutive budget for 2023-24 as a very forward-looking budget that will promote the inclusive growth of all industries.
Navjeevanexpress.com furnishes the opinions of the industry stalwarts to throw light on Union Budget 2023-24.
Kamal Singal, MD & CEO, Arvind SmartSpaces
“The Union Budget 2023 is a progressive budget with a strong thrust on infrastructure and connectivity, domestic manufacturing, ease of doing business, and green development.This budget focused on tax reliefs, including a revised income tax rebate from Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 7 lakhs which will provide customers with a larger share of disposable income. Additionally, the increase in outlay for the PMAY scheme to Rs 79,000 Cr is also a positive indicator for the industry and opens the opportunity for newer homebuyers, especially in affordable segment. The government’s plan to create urban infrastructures is expected to accelerate development across tier-2 & tier-3 cities, further creating a demand for residential buildings. Moreover, it was highly encouraging to see Green Development as one of the key themes of the Budget and we welcome this move which will create awareness regarding the importance of green buildings and environmentally ‘conscious’ construction activities, further enabling India’s ambitious sustainability goals. The structural demand for the residential real estate market remains strong. We expect the customer sentiment towards real estate, and growth indicators to remain strong over the coming year.”
Mihir Joshi, CEO, GVFL
“The budget supports innovation and entrepreneurship, the key growth drivers of the economy. Extending the tax holiday policy by a year and the benefit of carrying forward losses on change of shareholding of startups to 10 years of incorporation from the current seven years is welcome. The focus on bringing more youth into entrepreneurship will spur the economy. Setting up three Centres of Excellence in AI and 100 labs for developing applications using 5G services will enhance the innovation capacity, fuel deep-tech startups, and help find scalable solutions for many problems.”
Bharat Patel, Chairman and Director at Yudiz Solutions Ltd
“The FM has presented a budget that will give impetus to growth and development. Setting up three Centres of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence in top educational institutions will galvanise an effective AI ecosystem and nurture quality human resources. The setting of 100 labs for developing applications using 5G services will help realise new opportunities, business models, and employment potential. The expansion of the digital ecosystem for skilling with a Skill India Digital platform will enable demand-based formal skilling and facilitate access to entrepreneurship schemes. The boost to the startup ecosystem will spur entrepreneurship and contribute to economic development.”
Kamal Bansal, MD, GVFL
“The Finance Minister has achieved a financial balance between increasing capital expenditure and reducing the fiscal deficit from 6.4% to 5.9%. The budget will make the economy more resilient. It also lays out the vision for the next 25 years and focuses on giving ample opportunities to the youth. The National Data Governance Policy will unleash innovation and research by startups and academia. The Agriculture Accelerator Fund will encourage agri startups by young entrepreneurs in rural areas and help in modernising agriculture. The extension of the date of incorporation for income tax benefits to startups by a year will give a boost to the startup ecosystem.”
Kshitij Patel, Chairman, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Gujarat Branch
“Boost for infrastructure, energy and MSME sectors. Strengthening roots for growth of start-ups and manufacturing units by providing substantial tax benefits. The Budget for 2023-24 kept its focus on expanding Capex showing that the Modi government’s priorities are building roads, highways, and railway lines. The middle class has been given some relief in terms of changes in the new income tax regime clearly pointing out that the government wants a shift towards the new regime from the older one. Further incentives for International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) to make it a global hub of financial services sector; Proposes to rationalise double taxation on distribution of income to NR ODI holders by providing for exemption to any income distributed on the offshore derivative instruments, entered into with an offshore banking unit of an IFSC (subject to the conditions prescribed); Exempted income shall include only that amount which has been charged to tax in the hands of the IFSC Banking Unit under section 115AD; Also proposes to amend the definition of “Specified Fund”, “Resultant Fund” and “Investment Fund” to include the reference of IFSCA (Fund Management) Regulations, 2022.”
Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, Bank of Baroda
“The Union budget has quite expectedly followed the path of fiscal prudence and done its best to make money work better. Outlays have been rationalized and reoriented to the productive sectors i.e. capex in a bid to nudge private investment and growth. By retaining the net borrowing of the government at almost the same level as last year, it has ensured that there is no pressure on the market which is presently challenged by liquidity availability. A few tax sops at the individual level and firm support to the SMEs through the credit guarantee scheme would provide support to these classes. The private sector needs to provide back-up support by stepping in and investing.”
Amit Saluja, Centre Head of NASSCOM CoE, Gandhinagar
“India has taken rapid strides towards digitalization in recent times and the budget has sought to add pace to the trend. The skill development scheme to cover new-age courses such as coding, AI, robotics, IoT, 3D printing, etc. for Industry 4.0 has been expanded. Setting up 5G labs and three Centre of Excellence for AI, will give a boost to research and innovation in realizing the vision of Make AI in India and Make AI work for India. Public Digital Infrastructure will take open innovation to next level and accelerate tech adoption. All these initiatives will help in making Indian enterprises, especially MSMEs, more competitive. Startups and entrepreneurship are other areas that have received increased attention from the FM. On the whole, it is a very forward-looking budget that will promote the inclusive growth of industries.”
Rajiv Bhatia, Country Head and President, Analytix Solutions
“The Finance Minister has delivered a finely balanced budget. There are multiple announcements that will allow the country to benefit from the demographic dividend. There is a clear focus on education, skilling, digitalisation, research, and innovation. The Centres of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence in top educational institutes will help in developing an effective AI ecosystem. The setting up of 100 labs to develop applications using 5G services will help realise new opportunities. The budget also supports the startup ecosystem which will encourage more youngsters to turn into entrepreneurs. The boost to the digital payments ecosystem also augurs well for the economy.”
Bharat Bhut, CoFounder & Director, Goldi Solar
“The Budget for 2023 has reinstituted a focus on green growth in light of the government’s heightened emphasis on increasing the proportion of renewable energy in the total energy mix. The FM has allocated Rs 35,000 crore to this sector, prioritising India’s net zero goals and energy transition. The generation, transmission, and storage of renewable energy will be supported by these funding. This gives players in this market a special opportunity to make clean energy solutions accessible and affordable, enabling mass consumerization. The inclusion viability gap funding for battery storage, renewable energy evacuation, and green credit policy coupled with domestic and foreign debt funding makes this a game-changer in the making.”
Rajesh Sharma, Managing Director, Capri Global Capital Ltd
“In the backdrop of a slowing global economy, budget’s strong emphasis on capital expenditure as well as social sector spending seeks to strengthen foundations for growth continuity over medium term without ignoring short term social welfare needs. The collateral-free credit limit under the revamped credit-guarantee scheme for MSMEs should inject the right booster shot for a sector that has begun to emerge very strongly after the pandemic. The expansion of the digital ecosystem for skilling, especially through linkages with employers, including MSMEs, augurs well for the growth of new businesses and employment. The direct tax proposals fulfil much anticipated expectations of the tax-paying middle class. Overall budget estimates are pragmatic and based on reasonable assumptions of nominal GDP growth. It has once again provided a good anchor to all stakeholders for the year ahead. The likelihood of outperforming the estimates seems higher. The budget has sounded a positive note for the economy to guide itself over the next 25 years on the path to becoming a developed nation.”
Ramesh Doraiswami, MD & CEO, National Bulk Handling Corporation
“The Union Budget 2023-24 proposes a continued focus on the key areas of improving farmgate infrastructure and promoting the use of technology to improve farm incomes. The creation of Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture is commendable as it will be an open source of information services for crop planning and health, improved access to farm inputs, credit, and insurance & market intelligence, which today are not available readily to farmers thereby limiting their income. The announcement of the Agriculture Accelerator Fund to promote rural entrepreneurship focussed on agriculture is another welcome step. It will be interesting to see the details of this fund since it could also stimulate rural employment. In the “International Year of the Millet”, the announcement to make IIMR Hyderabad a global centre of excellence of millets is a big step forward as well. Overall, the budget presents a positive outlook for the agriculture sector and is likely to have a positive impact on the growth of agri-tech companies.”
Mahendra Shah, Chairman, and Group MD, V-Trans (India) Ltd
“The significant progress with many sustainable development goals has increased the Indian economy size from 10th biggest to 5th biggest in last 9 years. The Government has taken several encouraging steps to boost the infrastructure and transportation industry. Logistics, infrastructure, and transportation is the future of our country. This year’s budget has shown the government’s commitment to the logistics and infrastructure sector. This highlights India’s futuristic growth and commitment to elements like the Data Governance Policy, Centres of Excellence on AI, Green Growth, and the conventional thrust areas of infrastructure have also received a big boost. Though the Union Budget 2023 did not provide much specific attention to the logistics and transportation sector. However, the government did announce various initiatives aimed at improving the overall infrastructure of the country, which could have a positive impact on the logistics industry. These initiatives include the allocation of ₹1.97 trillion for infrastructure development, plans to build new airports and modernize existing ones, and investments in the development of the National Highways network. Additionally, the government’s focus on increasing the use of technology in various sectors, including transportation, could also benefit the logistics industry. However, the industry has called for specific measures, such as tax incentives and investment in technology, to boost its growth and competitiveness.”
Nikhil Mathur, MD, India & Head of Data Partnership & Innovation-APAC at GfK
“The budget for 2023-24 has struck the right chords and is balanced. The massive push for capital investment and spending augurs well across industries as it shall lead to increased job creation. With the new tax slabs, there is an expectation of increased disposable income and consumer purchasing power which will have a positive impact on the retail sector. The reduction in customs duties for mobile phone manufacturing inputs and television along with the continuation of existing import sops will build more momentum in domestic manufacturing capacity. Going forward, we expect companies in the consumer tech sector to benefit from the progressive measures announced today. Overall, a budget focused on delivery”
Neeraj Dhawan, Country Manager, Experian India
“We welcome the government’s efforts to enable more fintech innovative services and simplify the KYC process by expanding the scope of documents available through DigiLocker. India’s fintech services have been revolutionised by our digital public infrastructure, through Aadhaar, PM Jan Dhan Yojana, India Stack, UPI, and Video KYC. Additionally, the move to set up an Entity DigiLocker which can be leveraged by MSME’s, large businesses, and charitable trusts to safely secure and store their documents, which can be shared with various authorities and regulators, is a positive step towards ease of doing business. Another positive from this budget is the government’s commitment to putting the final touches to National Data Governance Policy. This will add good momentum to India’s emergence as a knowledge-powered economy.”
Nemin Vora, CEO, Odysse Electric Vehicles
“With the budget announcement completed, we can see the emphasis on this year’s budget on wider adoption of Electric Vehicles for public as well as private use. The introduction of the National Hydrogen Mission in India is a huge step towards making the country greener and more sustainable. Government’s decision to increase the income tax rebate limit on personal income from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh in the new tax regime is a welcome step for the middle-class citizens. This step is likely to help the sector as more disposable income with salaried customers may give supplementary push to demand for personal vehicles.Another significant announcement made by the government is the elimination of customs duty on capital goods imported for the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries. This step is a boost for companies that are / would be manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles locally. Overall, this move by the Government of India is expected to have a positive impact on the lithium-ion battery industry, making it more accessible and cost effective for businesses.”
Haresh Kathrotiya, MD, GM Tea Packers (Tulsi Tea)
“The finance minister’s budget is well-balanced and supports inclusive development. Agriculture is critical to India and the FM has made several welcome announcements for the sector. The Agriculture Accelerator Fund will encourage agri-startups in rural areas. The Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Program will boost the availability of disease-free and quality planting material for high-value horticultural crops. The focus on promoting millets will encourage more farmers to grow millets. The setting up of Centres of Excellence for AI will help in developing scalable problem solutions for agriculture and other areas. The increase in the agriculture credit target to Rs 20 lakh crore also shows the government’s commitment to crores of farmers.”
