Interim Budget 2024: Industry Reactions (Part-2)

Radhika Choudary, Co-Founder, Freyr Energy
“The Budget 2024 has unveiled the Vision for Vikasit Bharat, emphasizing a harmonious relationship with nature. The government is actively promoting inclusive sustainable development through initiatives such as rooftop solar, as outlined in the Finance Minister's speech. Anticipating new guidelines and incentives under the 'Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana,' the industry is optimistic about India's rooftop solar energy transition.
The commitment to rooftop solarization and providing free electricity to one crore households is expected to infuse competitiveness and innovation into the solar sector. With the potential to contribute significantly to achieving the government's target of making India net zero by 2070, this boost is poised to generate employment opportunities for the youth engaged in manufacturing, installation, and maintenance within the solar industry. The interim budget has successfully unlocked the true economic potential of India's rooftop sector.”

Dr. K. Anand Kumar, MD, Indian Immunologicals
“I commend the initiatives outlined in the Interim Budget 2024, particularly those addressing women and children's health. These measures signify a concerted effort to strengthen India's healthcare system by prioritizing preventive care, expanding access to essential services, and leveraging innovation for better health outcomes.
The decision to provide and actively encourage cervical cancer vaccines for 9–14-year-olds reflects a proactive approach to preventing a significant health burden among young girls. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women globally, with millions of cases reported annually. Investing in this preventive measure is poised to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer and its associated morbidity and mortality rates in the future.
The budget has also allocated INR 1 lakh crore towards establishing a corpus, offering a 50-year interest-free loan to scale up research and innovation significantly in sunrise industries. This allocation presents a promising advancement within the vaccine industry. It allows for the integration of new-age technologies in vaccine development processes, especially for mRNA and Adenoviral vector vaccines.”

Swathi Reddy Gunupati, Founder of Mudhra Ventures and Executive Director, IQuest Enterprises
“Fueling the momentum for Nari Shakti, the past decade has witnessed remarkable strides in women empowerment. 2024 seems to swing in bigger changes with the 30 crore Mudra Yojana loans dedicated for women entrepreneurs, 28% rise in female higher education enrollment and 43% representation in STEM courses. This will inevitably bring in significant progress with a surge in entrepreneurship, improved living conditions, and a focus on dignity. We are hopeful that the newer legal and political reforms will encourage growing women participation in the workforce.”

N. Parvathi Reddy, FICCI FLO Young Leader and Co-Founder and Executive Director at NAR Infra Pvt
“Budget, though interim, has a long-term view. It is a forward-looking budget.  It laid down the long-term vision of the government. Nirmala Seetharamn reemphasised the importance of innovation.  She said innovation is the foundation of development.  Accordingly, she provided provisions in the budget. For continuity, the FM extended tax exemptions to Startups working in the space of IFSC.  Retained tax rates for direct and indirect taxes.  The budget made provisions for the empowerment of Women, Children, Youth and Farmers, which is most welcome.  The budget also gave a fillip to skill development, upskilling and reskilling.  The Minister announced plans to take up projects for port connectivity in island territories.
On the Tourism front, setting up of development centres, encouragement to promote India as a MICE destination, boosting spiritual tourism, long-term interest-free loans to states to develop tourism centres and conversion of 40,000 rail bogies to Vande Bharat Standards are some of the laudable initiatives proposed in the budget.
Setting up a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore with 50-year interest-free loans for sunrise domains is a step towards the future-oriented economic development of the country.  
The budget was women-friendly budget. Extension of Ayushman Bharath to all Asha and Anganwadi workers, bringing maternal, and child care health schemes under one plan, and plans to allocate 70% of houses to women in rural areas under the PM Awas Scheme are some of the steps towards women's welfare.   It announced that it would launch a new housing scheme for the middle class. The Minister also stated the government will build 20 million rural houses in the next five years. It is a progressive step ensuring housing for all.  
All in all, it is a forward-looking budget. Though it was anticipated that the Finance Minister would announce some soaps in income tax that has not happened.  It has also a long time demand the GST Amnesty was expected, but that too has not been addressed.  Hope these will be looked into as well as some measures to encourage schools and education when a full budget is proposed in July by a successive government.”

Ankit Hakhu, Director, CRISIL Ratings Ltd.
“Supporting off-shore wind capacities: Focus on supporting 1 GW off-shore wind capacities through viability gap funding is likely to support longer term growth of the wind sector, which has lagged behind solar in per-annum capacity addition. One of the challenges for wind sector growth is availability of sites with high wind potential. Opening up offshore sites such as sea-beds and providing funding support has the potential to improve supply and be a tailwind for growth.
Increasing number of airports: Stress on new airport development in line with previous goals of taking the number of airports to 220 from 149 currently is a positive for both airport and airline sectors. This will help increase geographical penetration of air travel in the country, bringing many non-metro cities into India’s flight map. This will help meet the increasing demand for air travel emanating from the rising share of middle-class population in the country. Capex opportunities for developers will also trend up.
Increasing number of rail bogies to vande bharat standard: Budgetary announcement of converting 40,000 rail bogies to Vande Bharat standards will further boost demand for stainless steel in railways sector, which has been witnessing increasing usage of the alloy due to its higher durability and lower maintenance. In the three fiscals through 2025, stainless steel demand is expected to log a healthy compound annual growth rate of 9-10%, double the ~5% pace of the previous five fiscals.”

Sudarshan Venu, MD, TVS Motor Company.
“The emphasis on homes for the middle class and expansion of women self-help groups shows the government is committed to development across the board, even as it encourages investment in sunrise sectors and technology. For the automobile sector in particular, the continued infrastructure spending with the push to develop the EV ecosystem is exactly what the industry needs.”

Susanne Pulverer, CEO and CSO (Chief Sustainability Officer), IKEA India
“We welcome the positive strides taken by the Indian government in the Interim Budget. The focus on manufacturing, youth, skilling and women empowerment is truly commendable and will pave the way for a more inclusive growth and economy. The emphasis on making energy security and infrastructure for green mobility accessible and affordable for the many people resonates with IKEA’s sustainability vision. We believe that the government has only furthered the country’s resolve for a Viksit Bharat.”

Pushan Sharma, Director-Research, CRISIL Market Intelligence & Analytics
“Increase in allocation to the tourism sector of 45% to Rs 2,450 crore is expected to boost employment generation as well as the sector’s share in overall GDP. Domestic tourism will also gain from setting up of a framework for rating tourism centres, providing of long-term interest-free loans to states, and continued focus on improving port connectivity, tourism infrastructure and island amenities. These drivers have the potential to increase the sector’s share in overall employment to a top 20 country average of 11.4% from 8.0% and the share in GDP to top 20 country average of 10.3% from 6.8%.”

Dinesh Khara, Chairman, SBI
“The interim budget has laid out an affirmative action of fiscal glide path towards 4.5% in FY26. The heartening news is that the anticipated tax buoyancy in FY24 excluding the outlier pandemic year is the highest in 7 years. This apart, the budget has laid out reinforced architecture of Big possibilities, creating an all-encompassing action-oriented roadmap to embark upon an arduous yet rewarding journey for each and every Indian, chiefly the fringe and hitherto vulnerable masses, entrepreneurs, agripreneurs and women, making them an equity holder in Viksit Bharat.”
 

Gopichand P. Hinduja, Chairman, The Hinduja Group 
“A Runway for the Vikasit Bharat Flight to take off Interim Budget is both a time for reflection and visioning for the future while managing adroitly the present. Compliments to FM Nirmala Sitharaman for effectively achieving this. She articulated the achievements of the past decade and spelt out the broad roadmap to 2047 while maintaining the path of fiscal rectitude with fiscal deficit targeted at 5.1% in FY 25 and down to 4.5% in FY 26.
The interim budget commendably shunned any populist measures so often resorted to by the governments. But Bharat could certainly do more on its infrastructure CAPEX budgeting which increased nominally by 11%. Some bold measures are needed to increase the annual FDI level of 60bn $ further. The banking and power sector reforms coupled with further impetus on digital infrastructure are imperatives to Vikasit Bharat with improved sovereign rating. Overall, stability and continuity with judicious acceleration are the wheels deployed through this interim budget for taking off this flight. Now, it’s over to July 2024.”
 
 

Vinod Aggarwal, President, SIAM and MD & CEO, VECV
“The announcement on strengthening the Electric Vehicle ecosystem by supporting manufacturing and charging infrastructure, will boost the development and adoption of EVs in the country. He further stated, the encouragement of Payment Security Mechanism for adoption of e-buses for public transport networks is also a welcome step.”
 

 
T S Kalyanaraman, Managing Director – Kalyan Jewellers
“We welcome the interim budget announced by FM Nirmala Sitharaman, and commend the Government of India’s consistent efforts in ensuring inclusive growth as well as recognizing the pivotal role of women in economic transformation, through a diverse array of initiatives.
The country’s phenomenal growth trajectory and economic prowess in the past decade, has been nothing short of extraordinary, particularly the surge in FDI, which witnessed two-fold increase over the past two decades. As we celebrate the golden era, we would like to applaud PM Modi’s commitment and vision for fostering a thriving economic landscape. The ‘First Develop India’ (FDI) initiative, geared towards encouraging foreign partnerships, exemplifies a collaborative spirit towards economic progress.
Furthermore, we believe the PM Vishwakarma Yojana is playing a critical role in empowering the India’s artisan community. With benefits extending across 18 trades, it symbolizes the Government of India’s holistic approach towards preserving traditional craftsmanship and contributing significantly to the nation's economic fabric.”
 
 

Sadaf Sayeed, CEO, Muthoot Microfin
“We commend the government's recent initiatives, especially the momentum for Nari Shakti and the focus on rural development. As a microfinance institution, we resonate with their commitment to women's upliftment, evident from the introduction of Mudra Yojana loans announcement.
Through the implementation of comprehensive programs, the government is creating opportunities for underserved communities. These initiatives additionally empower key constituencies, including farmers, small business owners, and women entrepreneurs, who are significant contributors towards the development of India.
At Muthoot Microfin, we look forward to aligning towards enabling these transformative endeavors for a self-reliant and prosperous India.”
 
 
Pradeep Lala, MD & CEO – Embassy Services Pvt. Ltd
"In a bold stride towards sustainability, our focus lies in bio-energy, amplifying ethanol production and championing green-energy access through hybrid policies. A significant breakthrough is imminent with a major announcement on distributed solar, bolstered by a welcomed relaxation in BCD for solar panel module manufacturing. A strategic push towards enhancing energy storage systems is underscored, backed by subsidies or GST relaxation to spur growth. The transformative investment in smart grids aligns with our commitment to a future-ready energy landscape. Noteworthy is our keen attention to the promising realm of green hydrogen, particularly in transportation and later in steel industries, marking a pivotal step towards cleaner industrial processes. The emphasis on ISTS for renewable energy solidifies our dedication to a comprehensive and sustainable energy ecosystem, setting the stage for a greener and more resilient future."
 

Aditya Virwani, COO, Embassy Group
“The government's announcement of a scheme to facilitate home ownership for deserving sections of the middle class is a commendable step in line with the Housing for All initiative. This not only addresses a crucial need for our young population but also propels the housing sector into a new era of growth, fosters inclusivity, and ensures that homeownership becomes a reality for a larger section of our society.
As we anticipate the final budget under the new government, we hope for continued support, including reduced home loan rates, favourable tax policies, and incentives for sustainability. These measures will be crucial in fostering an environment conducive to the growth of the real estate sector and contributing to the larger vision of India becoming a USD 7 trillion economy."
 
 
Md. Sajid Khan, Director-India, ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)
“The Interim Union Budget paints a promising picture of India's transformation. The focus on skilling India's youth through initiatives like NEP and Skill India Mission, and the emphasis on both traditional and non-traditional skilling avenues is a laudable step towards India's aspirations of becoming a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047. Public-private partnerships and leveraging industry expertise will be crucial in bridging the skill gap and empowering the ‘Amrit Peedhi’ for a developed India by 2047. Unleashing GIFT IFSC's potential as a global financial hub requires fostering a future-ready accounting workforce through industry-aligned training programs and internships. A robust pipeline of skilled accountants adept in FinTech, international finance, and global regulations is key to propel India's economic growth and achieve ‘Viksit Bharat’.”
 
 
Neel Chheda, Senior Executive Vice President & Head – Auto & Actuarial Analytics, TATA AIG General Insurance Company Limited
“The interim budget of 2024-25 unveils a visionary initiative to enhance EV ecosystem. By bolstering manufacturing capabilities and charging infrastructure, it aims to drive the adoption of clean and efficient transportation. We can aspire to create an ecosystem that not only benefits the environment but also propels our nation to the forefront of global leadership in sustainable energy. We expect more collaborations with the EV industry enabling solutions that cater to the evolving needs of the e-mobility landscape. We look forward to remaining committed to support and contribute to the growth and success of government’s vision for a greener future.”
 
 

Mukundan, MD & CEO, Tata Chemicals Limited
“The Interim Budget has presented clear vision for Viksit Bharat by 2047 using demography, democracy and diversity as enablers. It reinforces India’s commitment towards people-centric, inclusive and sustainable development, with every Indian becoming active players in national growth.
The announcement of the bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry scheme gives fillip to India’s larger green growth mission. Along with climate-resilient activities for restoration and adaptation measures, these initiatives will go a long way in supporting our net-zero 2070 goals. Guided by the principle ‘Reform, Perform, and Transform’, the government has taken up next generation reforms such as strengthening the e-vehicle ecosystem, underscoring India’s ambition to be a manufacturing hub.
The Interim Budget focuses on economic policies that boost the profound transformation of the economy over the past decade. This comprehensive approach strengthens our belief in the nation’s economic trajectory, and towards a future.”