Industry expectations from Union Budget of 2021-22

Mr. Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, Informa Markets

“In the upcoming Union Budget 2021, we expect the Honorable Finance Minister to focus on two key aspects: demand and employment generation. The best way to boost these is by spending on infrastructure as it has high employment elasticity and supports all businesses —large, medium, small or startups. Events and exhibitions are key mobilizers and facilitators of the economy and for the past few years, owing to our advocacy, we have seen a visible transformation in the government’s focus on the industry. The sector boosts trade, innovation and better understanding between nations that further propels sectoral growth, while also developing a host of ancillary businesses linked directly or indirectly to exhibitions. We have therefore been seeking an industry status from the government. Since trade exhibitions have a symbiotic relationship with the industry, promoting the sectors by introducing sops and rebates, especially for SMEs, to participate in trade exhibitions, will lead to the wellness of the economy, the sectors and the exhibitions industry.”

 Akshaya Kamat, Director, Pioneering Ventures

“The government has been proactive in initiating farm reforms and modernising the agri sector. It is equally important to win confidence and support of the farmer community – towards that end, we expect to see more budget allocations and measures to bolster farmer income, with better access to credit and markets. We also expect a concerted effort from the central and state governments towards capacity building in agri and food processing sectors – incentives to build more modern pack houses, weatherproof warehouses, integrated cold chains, technology and data-mining to support supply chains and more. We need sharper focus on value addition in these sectors so that they become a key enablers of the government’s vision of farmer empowerment. We also urgently need easing of duty structures and regulations on export of fresh produce – this can build a positive momentum to make our agri economy more export-oriented.”

Nitin Puri Head, e- Marketplace Ventures, Pioneering Ventures

"The post-harvest infrastructure incentives already announced through the Agri Infrastructure Fund & the Scheme for Formalisation of Micro Enterprises, need to be seamlessly dovetailed with measures to help farmer collective’s access wholesale, retail & consumer markets- directly & efficiently- both locally & globally

This should be materialised by promoting a mix of brick & mortal as well as digital platforms that will eventually enable farmers to realise a larger share of the consumer pie.

Increased infrastructure spends on irrigation, logistics & ports, both by the government as well as through creative PPP mechanisms, will help boost farmer incomes as well as provide a shot in the arm for India’s agri exports.

Special focus needs to be given to the perishables space including fruits, vegetables & fishery / aqua sectors.

Measures to integrate the proposed Digital Agri Stack of the government with financial institutions, market platforms and farmer collectives, will help to effectively offer an assortment of risk management services to farmers including e- warehouse receipt financing, insurance & cash flows based financing."

Vinod Kumar Gupta, Managing Director, Dollar Industries Limited
"The year 2020 has been a roller coaster ride for each one of us and has negatively impacted economic growth worldwide. The common man has been struggling with disrupted cash flow and income. What people are looking forward to is relief in the form of tax cuts, subsidies, easier access to credit from the government which would increase the cash flow in the system and also help in increasing the purchasing power of consumers.

The pandemic has taught us that we should be prepared for the unexpected. Hence, the Government should focus on increasing the infrastructure of the Country which would also help us in economic growth. With regards to the hosiery and textile industry, we expect export incentives and expeditious disposal of benefits to the exporters. We are also looking at better labour codes as they have an impact on the high labor-intensive industry such as ours. We expect better investment allowance, subsidies, interest subventions, etc for digitization and streamlining the logistics sector."

Dr. S Vasudevan, CMD, Ozone Group
“The realty industry is one of the bellwethers of India's economy and contributes more than 8 percent to the Indian economy employing more than 30 million people. It is an important industry as it has a ripple effect on other ancillary sectors. Therefore, any measures taken to uplift the sector will have the potential to revive the overall economy.
Over the past couple of years, the industry has been working towards fulfilling our PM’s vision of ‘Housing for all by 2022’. The Government has also taken proactive measures that are commendable, but given the present market conditions, the industry needs more focused measures to further bolster demand in 2021.
Our Expectations from the Budget this year are:
1.       A regulatory authority especially for the cement and steel sectors to regulate the price and thereby curb the rise in construction cost and instances of cartelization.
2.       The Government should adopt a uniform policy across all states in the reduction in stamp duty for various instruments related to real estate transactions, for the next 18-24 months. This would definitely give fillip to the homebuyers.
3.       Reduction in premiums for TDR, FSI etc. to enable more cost effective/cheaper products for all end users.
4.       Reduction in GST across all sectors of Real Estate, to bring down the overall property cost and push demand.”