Presenting the first ever digital Union Budget, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman said that her budget would herald the dawn of a new era – one in which India is well-poised to truly be the land of promise and hope.
Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Budget carries a vision of Aatamnirbharta and inclusion of every citizen and section.
Taazakhabar News reached out to a cross-section of people to get a glimpse of the public opinion as to how the Budget 2021 focused on the common man and his needs. Here’s what the opinion leaders in different sections of the society have to say about the budget.
Vikas Garg, Chief Financial Officer, Paytm
“The Finance Minister has presented a balanced budget that is aimed at maximum growth of all sectors in the coming year. The Rs.1500 crore proposed scheme to incentivize digital payments is a welcome move that will accelerate the growth of cashless transactions in our country. During the pandemic, digital payments emerged as one of the key enablers of empowerment at the grassroots and brought millions of people under the fold of the formal economy. Government’s continued emphasis on increasing investment in Infrastructure, Insurance and digital payments will ensure financial inclusion of the masses.”
Ashwath Ram, Managing Director, Cummins India
“At first glance, it appears to be a progressive budget. There is a focus on the socio-economic development of the country with an emphasis on Railways, the Power sector, infrastructure, healthcare, and enhanced digital connectivity. The voluntary policy on the scrapping of vehicles will have a positive impact and will drive the commercial vehicle and auto sector forward, the industry wanted an incentive-based scheme so we are still seeing the details. Also, MSMEs and other user industries have been severely affected by the recent sharp rise in iron and steel prices. The industry will receive a push by the decision to double the allocation of MSME and reduce the customs duty on some of the steel products. The focus on highways and the infrastructure investment plan will give the necessary impetus to the CV and construction equipment businesses.”
Aneel Gambhir – CFO, Blue Dart
“We are pleased to know that the Budget is in line with our expectations. The industry is eagerly waiting to see the results of these measures in our field of work. The proposed solutions include a succinct focus on improving road and railway infrastructure; investments in National highway corridors and economic corridors will aid in the speedy movement of goods and improve turnaround time which, in the long run, will bring down logistics costs significantly.
The National Highway work planned in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam will further assist in the final goal of last-mile delivery and we are eager to see its results on our business. In the long term, all the expenditures could be assisted with the proposed introduction of the DFI which will speed up the infrastructure development in India.
Apart from this, the focus on the manufacturing sector in the budget would also help the logistics sector grow further.
While the budget carries good news for the logistics sector, we are also happy to see the Government’s efforts in propelling areas such as healthcare, infrastructure, and employment, all of which require a special focus going into 2021. With COVID-19 continuing to be a significant threat to the world, India is providing the vaccine against COVID-19 to over 100 countries across the world which is a commendable effort. With the Government also providing 35,000 crores towards the Covid-19 vaccine in 2021-22, we are sure to bid adieu to the virus sooner rather than later.”
Paavan Nanda, Co-Founder, WinZO Games
“The measures announced by the government demonstrate its bullishness towards the startup ecosystem. The extension of long-term capital gains by another year will offer tailwinds to early stage funding. Extension of tax holiday by one year is also an encouraging offering however; most of the new age startups don’t start booking profits in the early years. The Budget’s focus on economic development, infrastructure and health will put India back on the growth trajectory after an unprecedented past financial year.”
Parikshith Reddy, Co-founder, Zippr
The announcement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to set aside Rs 15,700 crore in FY22 for the MSME sector and benefiting the startups with a turnover of up to Rs 100 crore in terms of the tax liability is a promising step towards encouraging the enterprise startup sectors that forms the base to India’s economic development. These steps are centrifugal to a long-term vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat, make in India mission, and summing up everything towards India’s $5 Trillion Economy vision.
The ₹1.41 lakh crore Urban Swachh Bharat 2.0 mission over five years announced today is another step towards building better cities for the natives. As the UN report indicates that by 2030, over 40 per cent of India’s population will be found in its big cities, the Urban Swachh Bharat 2.0 is indeed a concrete step towards making better and healthy living possible. Being a global leader in smart addressing, we look forward to continuing and multiply our assistance with Digital Door Numbering Technology to the State Governments, Municipal Corporations in this mission by enabling them to digitize the current complex addressing system and bringing in transparency for better Government services including waste management system, pipeline construction, emergency services, and public planning, property taxation amongst others as part of Government services.
T Chitty Babu, Chairman and CEO, Akshaya Pvt Ltd
We congratulate Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman on budget speech in the Parliament today. We welcome the move in launching a portal to maintain information on gig workers and construction workers. This could help in monitoring the health and also in providing the benefits. We also welcome the major proposal about boosting the road, rail and airport infrastructure for a robust public transport. This will ease the mobility and now people will also think about property investments outside the city. This budget allocation towards pubic transport will reduce the air pollution resulting in a healthy and peaceful living. Government’s decision to extend eligibility of erstwhile tax sop on home loan up to FY22 and the proposal that affordable housing projects can avail tax holiday for one more year can ease financial constraints on the real estate developers. It will certainly boost the real estate sector and accelerate it towards the growth wave. Homebuyers can expect a slew of options in the coming quarters as developers get the due support from the financial institutions as well as the government.
Yogendra Kashyap, CEO, RapiPay Fintech Pvt. Ltd
“The budget has a clear aim to empower India with a special focus on building infrastructure and creating a digital ecosystem to enhance the economy. As a push towards growth in the last mile delivery inclusion, the Finance Minister has proposed a Rs 1,500 crore scheme, which will be earmarked as financial incentives. India has witnessed a speedy growth in assisted payment post the pandemic, especially from the marginalized population of Tier II and Tier III areas. Further, the government has also proposed a world call fintech hub near Gandhinagar to augment India’s fast-growing fintech market and boost self-employment under the Prime Minister’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision. This would help in growing the payment infrastructure in our country”
Farrokh Cooper, Chairman & MD, Cooper Corporation Pvt. Ltd.
Budget 2021 is optimistic, driving the country towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat by putting significant stress on Railways, Power sector, infrastructure healthcare, banking, insurance, and agriculture, which will not only enable the country to revive its economy but will also stimulate growth. Voluntary policy on the scrapping of vehicles would have a positive effect and will move the commercial and automobile industries ahead. The industry would be encouraged by the decision to double the allocation of MSME and to reduce the customs duty on steel. Focusing on highways and the investment plan would certainly give the CV and construction equipment the requisite impetus. The government’s increased focus on the infrastructure sector will certainly bring in positive impact”
Dr. Bijaya Kumar Sahoo, Advisor, Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya Sangathan (Rank of Minister of State), Govt. of Odisha and Founder at SAI International Education Group
“I am happy that the Union Budget 2021 has focused on qualitative strengthening of over 15,000 Schools across India under National Education Policy 2020. It is a great move by the Finance Minister. An ‘umbrella’ structure will be created for central higher education in various cities. Legislation to set up the Higher Education Commission will be introduced soon. Last year, the government allocated Rs 99,300 crore for the education sector. To further the National Education Policy under the reinvigorating human capital under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat mission the minister said a central university will also be established in Leh for accessible higher education at Ladakh. 100 new Sainik schools to be set up in partnership with NGOs and private schools, 750 Eklavya schools will be set up in tribal areas, Increase in the expenditure cost for tribal schools. It will a major boost for rural education. Government proposes 3000 crore to be sanctioned towards upskilling and 30000 crore for R&D over 5 years. The budget allocation in Padhna Likhna Abhiyan has been increased from Rs. 95.25 cr (RE 2020-21) to Rs. 250 cr in BE 2021-22 (an increase of Rs. 154.75 cr) i.e. by 162.47% which will further lead to infrastructural (both digital and non-digital) enhancement. India’s focus on R&D with National Research Foundation an allocation of 50,000 crores will certainly help India in developing an urban India.”
Rahul Raj Founder & CEO, FloBiz- India’s first neo business platform that aims to accelerate the growth of small & medium enterprises through digitization.
I’d like to commend the government on presenting a comprehensive budget that aims to address some of the most important aspects of how we can build a resilient economy, especially in light of the global pandemic. The budget was pro-growth, pro-technology, pro-infrastructure and also had an earmarked place for improving healthcare in our country. The initiatives announced will certainly aid economic recovery, whether that's through capital infusion, change in taxation norms, programs for promoting domestic manufacturing or development of relevant infrastructure – these will create large opportunities for the MSMEs and is a right step in the direction of building an Aatmanirbhar Bharat
Vikas Bajaj, President, Association of Indian Forging Industry (AIFI)
This year’s Union budget is positive, as well as a progressive one with a strong drive towards the country’s socio-economic growth. It focuses on the Railways, Power, Health, Infrastructure, Banking, Insurance and Agriculture sectors. Voluntary policy on the scrapping of vehicles will have a positive effect and will drive the commercial and automotive industries forward. Furthermore, a recent sharp rise in iron and steel prices has affected MSMEs and other user industries severely. The positive step of reduction in customs duty uniformly to 7.5% on semis, flat, and long products of non-alloy, alloy, and stainless steels would certainly contribute to better raw material prices and reduced input costs. Also, no new corporate tax has been added which is positive news as it is a tough time for the industry. The increased government attention on the highways and infrastructure sector would contribute to a significant impact on the manufacturing and Auto industry and help in employment generation which is the most critical need to revive the economy.
Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, Informa Markets
“FM Nirmala Sitharaman presented the first-ever paperless budget with a special focus to Healthcare and Infrastructure sector. The announcement for Rs 64,180 crore for the overall Healthcare sector in the Union Budget of 2021 is a vital move by the Government to strengthen the Health and Wellness centers across India and contribute to our National Health Mission. The vision for recovery in the state-wise infrastructure activities supported by robust investments will give the economy the much-needed impetus and help us march towards the $ 5 trillion marks. The collateral-free loans and funds for MSMEs will stimulate growth and render solace to MSMEs hit by the pandemic.”
Bikesh Ogra, Global CEO and Director, Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited
“The Union Budget 2021 looks promising for the overall growth and revival of the economy which has been impacted due to the pandemic that the entire world witnessed last year. Capital infusion of INR 1,000 crores to Solar Energy Corporation of India and INR 1,500 crores to Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency will give a further boost to the non-conventional energy sector which will help in embracing the country’s green energy movement. Investing in the infrastructure sector, decreasing regulatory restraint, strengthening the regulations, executing digitization in several segments should act as mechanisms in enhancing India’s rank to improve the process of doing business. Notification on phased manufacturing plan for solar cells and solar panels will help in supporting Atmanirbhar Bharat and ramping up domestic capacity. Also, the proposed hike in the duty on solar inverters from 5% to 20% is going to boost domestic production which will further push the Government’s thrust on Atmanirbhar Bharat. The government’s proposal of launching a Hydrogen Energy Mission in 2021-22 will play a significant role in moving towards clean power resource. Considering the current times, this budget is focused on India’s development and is commissioned to accelerate the growth rate.”
Dr. K Anand Kumar, Managing Director, Indian Immunologicals
The Union Budget has laid a significant focus on healthcare which would strengthen the foundation of a healthy nation. With an increase of 137% from last year, the allocation of INR 2.23 lac crores for the primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare along with the steps to set up health and wellness centres across the country will immensely help especially the economically weaker section of the society making quality healthcare more affordable. Making specific funds available for the vaccination for COVID-19 as well as pneumococcal will help to combat the pandemic and save precious lives. It is encouraging that the government is trying to promote the growth of hospital infrastructure through PPP mode.
Jerold Chagas Pereira, Executive Director and CEO, mPowerO
“The previous year has not only changed education as we know it, but it has also persuaded all the educational stakeholders to find better digital learning solutions. Budget 2021 has immensely focused on the effective implementation of National Education Policy and reinforce the skill development process of the global education standards. The budget allocation for 15,000 schools to be worked as a model for the NEP implementation across the country is a welcome move for new age education and an indicator of the commitment of the government to the NEP. However, some tax concession to the education industry would have helped them to combat the financial challenges they are reeling through and resulted in enabling them to allocate higher funds for implementing digital learning solutions benefiting the students cover up the lost time due to the pandemic in an efficient manner.”
Ameen Khwaja, Founder and CEO, pTron:
The Union Budget 2021-2022 has a pragmatic approach to revive the COVID-19 hit economy. While the budget stressed on Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India, it is important to note that the costs would only increase in the immediate future for the existing players in Consumer Electronics Industry. An increase in import duties is a welcome move towards Atmanirbhar. However, considering that the current availability of technical skill and machinery isn’t strong, the industry is likely to witness a struggle in the short-run due to an increase in cost for importing components and parts leading to an increase in the manufacturing cost for the players in the market.
Sumanta Kar, Senior Deputy National Director of SOS Children’s Villages of India
This is just the right budget for the welfare of women and children. the Budget has given the much-needed impetus to the implementation of the new National Education Policy. The attention to such key areas of development is crucial for every child to have the opportunity to grow into a contributing and responsible citizen. The need for ensuring social security, protection of livelihoods, and creating economic opportunities for women, and youth cannot be overlooked or overstated.
On the education front, we get the feeling that several laudable proposals of the new Education Policy are going to take off sooner than expected. The government has demonstrated its commitment to qualitatively strengthen over 15,000 schools. It is opening more Sainik Schools and about 750 Eklavya schools for the children of tribal communities. Overall Budget 2021 has left no stone unturned in making sure that societies prosper economically and afford opportunities for the children and the youth to realise their potential.
