The countdown has begun for Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s fourth Budget on February 1 this year.
All eyes are focused on union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget 2022-23 and how it helps increase production, curb inflation, and maintain an eight per cent plus growth rate. Will her magic formula work? Will the M.Phil in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (1984) be able to steer India on the path for economic revival?
Here’s what some of the Captains of the industries expect from Nirmala Sitharaman’s fourth budget on 1 February 2022.
Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO at SPPL, Exclusive Brand Licensee of Blaupunkt in India
We need a stable GST tax slab in the 2022-23 budget to boost Indian manufacturing and MSMEs. No product should be above the 18% slab and they must encourage consumerism in order to improve market sentiment. By doing this, India could become the world’s third-largest market for television. The market size could grow by 15% each year, reaching 16 million units. We urge the government to not charge any customs duties for the time being, as the industry is moving towards stable conditions.
We need to congratulate GOI on introducing the $10 billion PLA scheme for display panels and semiconductor chips. This is a path-breaking move for the electronics sector.
The other most important sector where the government needs to intervene is the cargo sector. We’ve seen a 10x increase in sea freight in the last few years. There is a big syndicate in this sector, which is causing this delay and a huge loss to the economy.
The government should also consider a lower tax rate on consumer electronics.
Also Read: Nirmala Sitharaman – the economist behind the political garb
Sandeep Lodha, Co-founder at Netweb Technologies
The government has quite a lot of proactive policies for server manufacturing. The budget should focus on a few important things for demand generation. We need to see how the local buying of made in India products is encouraged. The government should fund a scheme for tech adoption, and government purchases of high-end IT products should be encouraged/prioritized to help create more demand. Data Centre Operators should be incentivized to use more “Made in India” products. Local server technology development will help to bring cutting-edge technology to the country while also addressing the nation’s security concerns. Another thing I am looking forward to is the R&D side. There has to be a special incentive for companies investing in R&D, there must be government incentivised and facilitated collaborations between the companies and premium Education and R&D facilities. This will be a major game-changer as the R&D and education systems will become more aligned with the real world of commercially valid products, and the industry will benefit from innovation and local enhancement of the technology to create global competence.
Pallavi Singh, Vice President, Super Plastronics, India brand licensee of Westinghouse TV
a) Promote Make in India Initiatives under National Policy on Electronics (NPE) – Given the current semiconductor shortage in the world, our government should aid the potential sector. Those aiming to manufacture in India and reduce their dependence on foreign nations should be provided aid in the form of subsidies. This, ideally, should also be backed by tax subsiding schemes since the quantum of investment required is huge. The NPE can also be expanded to include those already manufacturing consumer electronics in India as opposed to importing them.
b) Slash GST prices – we sincerely urge the government to reduce GST on consumer electronics especially since consumer electronics are regarded as necessities by all categories of consumers in India. The current rate of 18% applies to televisions up to 32 inches only, and there is a vast range of televisions that come under the ambit of 28% rate. A reduction in the rate to 18% on televisions up to 43 inches will bring a huge relief since a majority of the consumers in India fall under the 32 to 43 range.
c) Reduce raw material prices/ waive off customs duty on imported components- since there are no open cell manufacturers in India, the government should reduce the customs duty on open cells to 0% from the current 5%. This will help to promote domestic manufacturing while keeping the prices competitive. We should aim to become an exporting country for consumer electronics.
d) Expectations regarding the retail sector – the government should introduce rebates to help rebuild the retail sector. It has become a tedious task to run brick and mortar stores. GST on the same should be curbed to provide relief from the current inflated economy and increase in the price of raw materials.
Dr Angeli Misra (MD Path), Founder & Director, Lifeline Laboratory:
To combat the pandemic crisis, increased fund allocation in every aspect of the healthcare sector, a reduction in GST and import duty for critical care equipment and components (86% of which are dependent on imports) as an initiative for government support for the medical devices manufacturing industry, more funding to boost the development of the digital health sector and the production of point-of-care equipment can bring the highest level of quality care to the interiors and remote areas of India. In addition, the establishment of more medical education institutions and imparting of advanced training to enhance the skills of healthcare workers is of considerable significance and the need of the hour.
Abhishek Negi, Co-Founder, Eggoz
Agri startups are revolutionising Indian agriculture and we expect the government’s continued support to keep up the growth rate. One of the major issue agri start-ups faces early on is raising capital and getting funded. Our key demand from the government is to set up a start-up growth fund for early-stage agri start-ups and possibly a dedicated cell at the centre or state level to solve issues for Agri start-ups. Additionally, Agri-tech and related startups are also in need of cheaper financing and debt solutions for working capital or machinery investments. While the government has made many schemes at a policy level, we expect robust direct dissemination or via banks, so that startups can utilize the credit available and grow their business and generate employment. As the agri start-ups are solving problems across value chains for Indian agriculture, a special focus on infrastructure, R&D and a policy framework for Agri start-ups will go a long way to empower them. It is now time that the Indian government build its own rural incubators to support rural youth to build their own entrepreneurial models.”
