Here is a budget wishlist from different sectors of the Indian economy for Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gets set to present her fourth Budget on February 1, the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises sector expects the government to boost domestic manufacturing and encourage self-reliance by bringing reforms around import substitutes.
Anurag Gupta
Joint Managing Director, Roto Pumps Limited
Acknowledging that the MSMEs sector lacks the adequate technical capability to indigenously design and develop the products, said, "The focus of the government need to be on rolling out a policy that aims for indigenization in high-priority technology areas. This would allow MSMEs to design and build products that are globally competitive."
He also urged the government to incorporate sustainability practices in the economic revival and make green energy an integral part of the policies being announced for MSMEs. "This will not only create a sustainable economy and generate new jobs in the segment but also reduce India's reliance on energy imports," Gupta said.
"The government must enhance the Production-Linked Incentive scheme spectrum to speed up production of engineering products, especially positive displacement pumps, which would bring some relief measures for manufacturers like us," he said. Besides, the MSMEs sector also urged for tax sops.
KS Bhatia
CEO and Founder of Pumpkart and Figgital
"I expect the government to double the rural development budget to Rs 20,000 crore. Railways should be modernized on a priority basis. The government should renovate 100 Railway stations like airports by 2025,” he said.
Urging to allocate special funds for the small and medium enterprises, Bhatia said that the government should encourage Women Entrepreneurs. The realty sector has demanded relaxations in taxes, reduction in GST rates on raw materials among others.
Rohit Poddar
Poddar Housing and Development Limited MD
"By rolling out reductions on GSTs on raw materials and other key relaxations in taxes and waivers, the Union Budget 2022 can play a supporting role in the real estate sector."
"Considering the pandemic-induced change in home buying preferences, we expect the focus to be on providing a push to both affordable and rental housing to accommodate the rising demand in the housing sector. Hopefully, the long due of giving the sector infrastructure status will help in building liquidity in the sector," Poddar said.
Dhaval Ajmera
Director of Ajmera Realty & Infra India Ltd
"The real estate sector has over the past one-and-a-half years seen a good turnaround. In the post-Covid era, people have realized the importance of owning a house. The upcoming budget must continue to support the real estate sector as it is a significant contributor to the GDP of the country. This even though the government has supported and given few benefits like all-time low home loan rates, cut off on stamp duty, etc," he said.
The real estate industry seeks continued low-interest rates for the next 2 to 3 years and GST on the component basis at 8 per cent, he said. Ajmera also demanded a change in the definition of affordable housing.
It is important to increase the cap from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh on housing loan interest rates, in order to reduce the financial burden of taxes for buyers in the affordable segment, he added.
Sanya Goel
Co-founder, Humsafar Diesel Door Delivery
"Taxes collected on fuel need to be curbed. Ad valorem taxes on petrol and diesel have harmed the industry adversely considering that crude prices have climbed up in the last couple of years. It was a double whammy as it created pressure on demand and margin for petrol pump dealers and cost pressure on customers at large. It needs to be reversed immediately."
Also Read: FICCI gives 12 suggestions to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
Also Read: Budget 2022 Demystified: What is fiscal deficit? How is it calculated?
Also Read: With banks' financial health improving, ICRA expects no more capital infusion
Also Read: Demystifying Budget 2022: What is Economic Survey? Who prepares it?
For more Budget-related stories, Click HERE