Budget Expectations
Published on : Monday 07-02-2022
The month of February begins with the presentation of the Union Budget.
For the last two weeks, there have been scores of mails in our inbox from various industry stakeholders on what their expectations are from Union Budget 2022-23. It is a tightrope walk for the Finance Minister, balancing the aspirations of a nation of 1.3 bn and counting, with the expectations of every segment of the population as well as all sectors of the economy. The size of the Indian economy in terms of nominal GPD is currently $3.1 trillion. The last two years of the pandemic have adversely impacted the economy. But a recent report indicates the economic impact of the second wave that hit in early 2021 was not as severe as that of the first wave, which faced the brunt of the strict lockdown. As a result, the economic activities are now reportedly back to the pre-pandemic levels. The Economic Survey 2021-22, tabled in the Parliament on January 31, 2022 indicates many positives, raising hopes for a more positive Budget.
Most sectors are rooting for tax relief and financial packages. The EV segment is expecting a range of financing options available for EV commercial vehicle buyers to increase the uptake, with the demand to make it a priority lending sector for the financial institutions. However many rightly expect more efforts on the ease of doing business front. There is a lot the government can do here, like reducing the multiple approvals still required with more single window schemes to boost manufacturing to promote Atma Nirbhar Bharat. Further steps may be announced to ease tax litigation and boost compliance by greater oversight of transactions. However with elections during the month for five States – two of these being major agrarian economies that had also witnessed widespread farmer unrest – there could be an element of political considerations prevailing over economic objectives.
The theme of the Cover Story of this edition is focussed on leading technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Analytics, and how these are powering everything from robotics to augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) for enterprises engaged in manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, energy, construction, transportation and logistics, healthcare, and more. These are the sectors that can leapfrog with the help of digital technologies and the process has already begun and many use cases are now available. However, the problem remains of convincing the bulk of the players to follow the leaders and invest in their own digital transformation initiatives. To that end, one can hope the Union Budget 2022-23 facilitates this process with the right incentives.
