Pre-Budget Expectation from PM Modi
- Pre-Budget Expectation quote from Dhanuka Agritech Chairman, Mr. R. G Agarwal.
“Now that the Modi government has come back with a thumping majority, we expect it to outline its solutions in the forthcoming Budget addressing the acute farm distress. The interim Budget provided much-needed income support to farmers through the ‘Pradhan MantriKisanSamman Nidhi’ scheme. This needs to be implemented across the country along with new policies for farmers on water management and conservation, as the worsening water crisis needs immediate attention. Unmonitored use of water for irrigation has led to severe depletion of groundwater levels. At Dhanuka Agritech we have been actively involved in water conservation, to help farmers as well as at the village and corporate level. The newly formed Jal Shakti Ministry should announce rational measures to deal with the water crisis. It must focus on completing the pending irrigation projects and give impetus on promoting drip/ sprinkle irrigation amongst farmers with the required support.”
“Access to urban markets is another issue. The government should announce measures to help farmers to transport fresh produce (vegetables/fruits) through four-wheelers to sell their produce in the cities directly to consumers, removing the middlemen involved. Developing infrastructure for agriculture at the village level should be a priority for inclusive development. Further, as per Dr. Ashok Dalwai committee on ‘Doubling Farmers’ Income’ appointed by PM, the cost of pesticides usage in entire agriculture process is mere 0.4% but it should be noted that if pesticides are not of good quality then the rest 99.6% investment in agriculture may go waste. As such special focus should be to ensure supply of quality pesticides to farmers. Finally, GST on pesticides should be reduced from 18 percent to 5 percent in line with fertilizers and other agri-products so that farmers get quality pesticides at a reasonable price to protect their crops from pests and diseases.” ..
- Pre-budget expectation quote for Mr. Rajesh Sharma, Managing Director, Capri Global Capital Limited.
“The new government is expected to come up with some strong reforms to overcome the liquidity crunch faced by NBFCs. A dedicated liquidity window for the continuous credit supply would help the sector to regain normalcy. NBFC is the actual bridge between the priority sectors and are major enablers of credit inclusion. Thus benefits of tax exemptions like non-applicability of TDS on interest portion and shelter on the taxability of interest on NPAs/ sticky loans would be an added advantage. Further, simplification of GST and relaxation to other reforms would contribute towards ease of doing business.
NBFCs are playing a crucial role in reaching out to the underserved and unbanked market also known as ‘India 2’. In this budget, we wish the government looks at Re-evaluating and increasing the allocation to NHB for re-finance of affordable housing finance and considering an increase in the PMAY Subsidy from INR 2.67 lakhs to INR 3.5 lakhs for the underprivileged section. Lastly assisting small business owners to capitalize more funds to strengthen their business and thereby leading to a progressive path towards economic upliftment.”
- Pre-Budget expectation quote from Ms. Seema Prem, CEO of FIA Technology Services Private Ltd;
“As budget 2019 is fast approaching, expectations of the industry have started to surface. The last governments progressive policies have made the environment favorable for entrepreneurs, it is believed that this budget will lay down reforms to boost start up ecosystem in India. Also, seeing the current scenario of Banking in India, the Union Budget for 2019-20 is likely to spell out roadmap for banking reforms. FIA tech, a leading fintech company in digital payment & distribution systems for last mile financial inclusion in Indian and Nepal, would like the government to outline solutions to support fintechstartups. With this budget, we expect that the government in the 2019 Union Budget introduces measures to ease working capital blockages, with possible reduction in compliance burden.
Reverse Charge Mechanism(RCM) Exemption: The Business Correspondent (BC) industry is hopeful that the budget will address the procedural issue of Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM). It is important that Business Correspondent industry gets RCM exemption. BCs should be allowed to deposit in reverse charge in one state, preferably the state of registration or headquarters rather than taking registration in all states. This will improve the ease of doing business for the BC industry who are mainly fintech start-ups and reduce the cost of procedural compliance significantly.
Boost to Artificial Intelligence: We also believe that AI can be leveraged by financial institutions to completely redefine how they operate, establish innovative products and services, and impact customer experience. Some of the challenges that we see are the lack of collaborative platforms for niche resource sharing, inability to tap public data systems due to questions around data privacy and ownership.GoI should formulate clear policies around data and create an enabling ecosystem for sharing relevant government data and public records. Allocating funding for AI startupswill give the industry a much needed impetus.
Ease of getting funds: Fintech expects this government to come up with measures to ease out the funding procedure and wants them to increase reach of already available government funds under the corpus such as Financial Inclusion Funds. Financial Inclusion Funds as of now is not available for all form of business and is eligible only for NGOs & Banks.
We also believe that like in the past, the government’s focus will be on deepening financial inclusion and formulate policies to strengthen the PMJDY program. Digitizing the cash ecosystem, easing MSME lending and focus on removing barriers to adoption of mutual funds and insurance will be key focus areas”
- Pre-budget quote by Rakshit Desai, Managing Director, FCM Travel Solutions – Indian Subsidiary of Flight Centre Travel Group.
“According to the interim budget that was announced earlier this year, India is poised to become a $5 trillion economy in the next five years and is aspiring to become a $10 trillion economy in the next 8 years thereafter. The interim budget had offered some promising initiatives that will definitely augur well for the Indian Travel & Tourism industry. Initiatives such as UDAAN, Eastern Peripheral Highway and several other measures will boost not just domestic travel but also augment inbound tourism. For example, increased connectivity in the North-Eastern region of India, through rail, road and air (owing to projects such as UDAAN and Bogibeel Bridge) and further proposed allocation of INR 58,166 crore will provide much needed impetus to travel and tourism in the region.
Additionally, the fact that domestic passenger traffic has doubled during the last five years shows that there is phenomenal growth expected in the travel industry. On the whole, we expect that the Union Budget 2019-20 is promising for the travel industry, complemented by further tax rebate for the middle-income group – more savings, more travel! A review of GST is needed as GST on hotels varies according to room tariffs (18 % to 28%). Tax on premium hotels in India is amongst the highest in the world, higher than even hotels in New York, London or Paris.”
- Pre-Budget expectation quote from Mr. Subhrakant Panda, Managing Director IMFA:
“Industry has great expectations as the Finance Minister gets ready to present the Union Budget after Prime Minister Modi secured a comprehensive mandate for a second term.
We expect measures to stimulate demand, particularly in the core sectors, as it is vital to sustain growth and job creation. In order to revitalise ‘Make in India’, the effective tax rate for the mining industry – which is very high in India at around 60% – needs to be addressed, Finally, it is necessary to bring corporate income tax rates at par with competing economies.
Measures targeted at the rural economy to ensure inclusive growth and address ‘ease of living’ is also on the cards.”
- Pre-Budget Quote from Mr. T Chitty Babu, Chairman and CEO, Akshaya Pvt Ltd
“We welcome the government’s move to provide few incentives to the real estate sector in its last term and address the issues plaguing the real estate developers. We urge the government to address the NBFC liquidity crisis as NBFCs haven’t been able to provide finance for construction costs; stalling many under-construction residential projects across India. The government needs to incentivise real-estate developers by lowering tax burden as well as relaxing few more norms. Investor-friendly steps and steps to improve the infrastructure of the cities will open newer avenues for the developers and provide a stability to the sector in the long-term. Also, implantation of single window clearance system and faster approvals can help the real estate developers to tap into segments like Affordable Housing and ramp up the growth, thereby enhancing the overall buyer sentiments”.
