New Delhi, Feb 1: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s second pandemic Budget is growth-oriented and exudes a fine balancing act with an increase in capital expenditure while maintaining fiscal discipline, India Inc. said on Tuesday.
Corporate leaders and industry bodies described the Budget as business-like and devoid of any populism, with an emphasis on improving the ease of doing business and reviving economic growth by catalysing demand and investments.
“I congratulate FM @nsitharaman Ji for a growth-oriented and forward-looking #Budget for the masses. It sets the stage for rapid progress post-pandemic,” Vedanta Resources Executive Chairman Anil Agarwal tweeted.
Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra tweeted: “Brevity has always been a virtue. @nsitharaman’s shortest budget address may prove to be the most impactful.” Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw tweeted: “Fiscal prudence and business ease have been the theme. 35% increase in capital expenditure will drive infra and jobs – positive rhetoric with no negative surprises= balanced budget.” RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka tweeted: “With today’s budget focussed on capex, digital and welfare – I can clearly imagine the future. Today’s wordle Budget edition”.
Hinduja Group Co-Chairman Gopichand Hinduja termed the Budget as a great attempt by the finance minister to lay the economic blueprint for India’s growth in the next 25 years.
However, he stated that the devil is always in the detail, and the success of the measures taken will depend on the government’s ability to focus on the implementation.
CII Director-General Chandrajit Banerjee said, “Indian industry welcomes the government’s unwavering commitment towards boosting investments, creating jobs, improving ease of doing business, maintaining tax stability and certainty in policy regime through well-designed and prudent measures delineated in the budget.” Along with several positive and innovative measures, the most defining feature of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget for 2022-23 is a phenomenal increase in the government’s capital expenditure that would effectively go up to ₹10.68 lakh crore for the financial year beginning April 1, Assocham said.
Essar Ports Managing Director Rajiv Agarwal said the Budget, guided by the PM’s Gati Shakti National Master Plan, will facilitate economic recovery, especially amid the persistent pandemic.
“It is highly encouraging that the Union Budget seeks to lay the foundation and give a blueprint of the economy over ‘Amrit Kal’ of next 25 years — from India at 75 to India at 100,” Pradeep Multani, president of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said.
‘Proposed policy for battery-swapping to promote electric mobility’
The proposed policy for battery-swapping to promote electric mobility and other initiatives like the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan for multimodal transport will help in the growth of the overall automobile sector, industry players said on Tuesday.
Hyundai Motors India Managing Director Unsoo Kim said the Government’s strong approach towards accelerating infrastructure development, sustainability along with digitalisation in every sphere of business will give a strong impetus to the overall economy while empowering consumerism in India. “The vision for clean mobility creating electric vehicle ecosystem is a positive indicator for the auto industry and for its large supply chain,” he added. — PTI
Budget offers continuity: Tata Motors
Tata Motors Group Chief Financial Officer P.B. Balaji noted that Budget 2022 is an articulation of purposeful intent enabled by a clear action plan.
“For the Indian automobile sector, which is a significant contributor to the nation’s GDP, the Budget offers continuity and also additional opportunities to drive multi-year growth,” he noted.
Specifically, the robust increase in capex (capital expenditure) by 35.4 per cent to Rs 7.5 lakh crore and a comprehensive investment plan for infrastructure are significant growth boosters, Balaji stated.
“Additionally, the launch of the well-conceived PM Gati Shakti programme for multimodal transport, including 100 cargo terminals and investments in 25,000 km of highways apart from investments in ports and metros, is an excellent development that will help create a world-class transport infrastructure in the country,” he said. — PTI
Mahindra and Mahindra Executive Director (Auto and Farm) Rajesh Jejurikar said the road map laid out to usher in sustainable mobility by the finance minister in the Union Budget 2022-23 will bolster the electric mobility adoption in India.
“Battery-swapping can offer a practical alternative to increase the adoption of electric vehicles. As part of our last-mile mobility, we look forward to working with the government, policymakers and our partners to formulate and implement the battery swapping policy,” he added. — PTI
TVS Motor Company Chairman Venu Srinivasan said the big boost to capital expenditure is welcome and it will give a fillip to the Indian economy.
“For the automobile sector, we welcome the ‘PM Gati Shakti Master Plan’ focusing on building world-class infrastructure and improved connectivity for commuters.
“In the electric mobility space, we strongly support the measures undertaken by the government to promote clean and green mobility, mainly introducing the battery-swapping policy that will be instrumental in supporting an efficient EV ecosystem,” he noted.— PTI
Hospitality industry terms Union Budget as ‘gravely disappointing’
The tourism and hospitality industry termed the Union Budget 2022-23 as ‘gravely disappointing’, saying the measures announced by Finance Minister Sitharaman were not enough to support the sector that has been crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In her Budget 2022-23 speech, Sitharaman had acknowledged that hospitality and related services, especially those by micro and small enterprises, are yet to regain their pre-pandemic level of business.
“Considering these aspects, the ECLGS will be extended up to March 2023 and its guarantee cover will be expanded by ₹50,000 crore to the total cover of ₹5 lakh crore, with the additional amount being earmarked exclusively for the hospitality and related enterprises,” she said. — PTI
Reacting to her announcement, Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) Vice President Gurbaxish Singh Kohli said, “However, this is just a drop in the ocean for a sector that has been severely battered. Given the massive damages that decimated the entire sector’s ecosystem, these measures are not adequate to bridge the losses and offer impetus to the hospitality and tourism industry”.
He further said, “Though the Budget has been gravely disappointing, the extension of ECLGS with additional allocation to the crawling hospitality sector and provisioning an outlay of ₹2 lakh crore through CGTMSE are the only relief measures provided as part of the Union Budget 2022-23”. — PTI
National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) President Kabir Suri, however, said the extension of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) till March 2023 may ease current liquidity issues only for some businesses, which have existing credit lines or outstanding sanction available loans.
“It was very disappointing to see that no specific announcements were made for the restaurant industry and we are yet again left to fend for ourselves,” he added.
Mr. Suri said the restaurant industry was eagerly looking at some immediate liquidity support like restoration of input tax credit (ITC) on GST, ease of doing business from over-regulation and excessive licensing, a fair and equitable e-commerce policy for the survival and revival of the restaurant sector in the Budget. — PTI
Confederation of Tourism Professionals President Subhash Goyal said, “Nothing concrete has been announced and this industry is bleeding for the last three years. The tourism industry was expecting some relief to be announced in this Budget but we are really disappointed”.
“Since this Budget and the Finance Ministry has not seriously considered the economic contribution of tourism, therefore, we have no other option but to appeal to the tourism, health and home ministry for their help to restart e-tourist visas, scheduled international flights and remove the restriction of quarantine for those passengers who have received both the vaccinations,” he said.
Otherwise, Mr. Goyal said, “It will be impossible for inbound tour operators, tourist guides, tourist transporters, tourist drivers, artisans, handicraft manufacturers, artists, musicians etc. who are all dependent on inbound tourism to survive”. — PTI
Contrary to the sentiments of the industry bodies, OYO Founder & Group CEO Ritesh Agarwal termed the Budget as progressive and growth-oriented and said the extension of the incorporation period for eligible startups will certainly give a boost to the segment.
“Hospitality services by the small and medium sector are yet to bounce back, and the finance minister’s decision to extend the ECGL service for this sector up to March 2023, expanding the cover by ₹50,000 crore is a welcome move,” he said.
Similarly, EaseMyTrip Co-founder Rikant Pittie said, “International travel has been severely impacted by the pandemic, which is why we are pleased with the introduction of e-passports with embedded chips. This will provide a big boost to travel and add a level of convenience for international travellers”. — PTI
Real estate developers on Tuesday hailed the government’s decision to allocate ₹48,000 crore in Budget under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and faster approvals for affordable housing in urban areas but rued that no additional tax deduction was allowed on interest paid on home loans.
“Allocation of ₹48,000 crores towards completion of 80 lakhs home under PMAY is a welcome step. FM also announced that approvals related to land and construction particularly for Affordable Housing in the urban areas will be given priority,” CREDAI President Harshvardhan Patodia said.
He also welcomed the government’s focus on urban planning, especially in tier II and III cities, in the Budget.
Boman Irani – President, CREDAI-MCHI, said there has been an introduction of a revolutionary reform – one land and one registration system — which is beneficial for the real estate ecosystem.
“Though the real estate industry analysts and developers community were hoping for some more rebates given its performance and contribution to the overall economy in the past few months. A simple point that could have added cheer to home buyers would be an increase in tax deduction for home loan interest,” he added. — PTI
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