MUMBAI, 27 JANUARY, 2022 (GPN): The Union Budget 2022-23 will be presented by the Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2022. Here is the Union Budget Expectations 2022-23 Quotes from Experts and Stalwarts from the different sectors of trade and industries.

1.[Education Sector]:

A). Prof (Dr.) Y.S.R. Murthy, Founding Vice-Chancellor, RV University, Bengaluru

“With the current pandemic situation, it is crucial to prioritise education and health in India. Despite many promises, the allocation for education had never touched 6% of GDP in India. But the government should focus on the needs of the education sector in general, and higher education in particular. As two-thirds of the higher education sector is in the hands of the private sector, it is time to encourage private corporate philanthropy in a big way through fiscal and other incentives. We also need to create an enabling environment to let the private sector come forward and establish new institutions.”

According to Shri N R Narayana Murthy’s Committee Report, “Contributions made by a corporate or a foundation or any other grant-making entity to a University or to a research center or a center of excellence (being part of a university or higher education institution) or a new university approved by the government or an approved program under a university-industry partnership, should be eligible for deduction from taxable income to the extent of 300% of such contribution.  Higher education institutions should be incentivized to build significant endowments. We would want the government to set up a scholarship to be named ‘The Indian Corporate Higher Education Scholarship’ with a corpus of Rs.1,000 crores contributed by the top 1000 corporations of the country. This should be run by an eminent independent board. This scheme should be encouraged by the government by providing full matching grants as well as providing tax exemption of up to 300% for all contributions.”

B).Pre-Budget expectation quote from Mr Aakash Chaudhry, Managing Director, Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL).

“With the Union Budget 2022-23 approaching, the young generation has high expectations from the Government especially in four segments – Education & Skill Development, better infrastructure, enhanced employment opportunities and common man’s safety & security. We applaud the Government initiatives like the adoption of the NEP, inclusion of new-age courses, and strengthening of the e-learning ecosystem. With Covid completely changing the dynamics of classroom education, we expect there to be a great amount of focus on online education and its infrastructure, especially in the Tier 2,3 cities, in the Budget.

Covid-19 adversely impacted the education system and forced an increase in the rate of school dropouts. The government should announce an attractive stimulus package and provisions for the education industry to bridge the glaring gap between urban and rural populations. The Government also needs to support telecom companies so that they develop better infrastructure, internet connectivity, access to modern devices, ensuring last-mile delivery, quality guidance to the underserved who have been left behind owing to the digital divide. While skilling, reskilling and upskilling will be the new normal, we need to develop more institutes like IITs, IIMs. NIIT, association with foreign universities offering new-age curriculum in sync with global standards to propel future workforce to be industry-ready. The Government should focus on major fund allocation towards innovation, research and development to help talent create lucrative employment opportunities.”

C).Quote By: Dr Silpi Sahoo, Chairperson, SAI International Education Group

“The progress of a nation depends on the educated youth.  We hope our Government shift their focus on the education sector with a vision that not a single child is deprived of quality education. We expect to see an increase in the allocation of annual budget for education from 6% as done in 2021 which amount a total allocation of Rs. 93,223 crores, against Rs. 99,311 crores in the year before that. We are hoping for an increase of allocation of the annual education budget to 10%.

Currently, the GST rate which is applied on education is categorized under Education Services and hence 18% GST is levied, we expect the Government to revise the GST rate and reduce it to 5%. The pandemic has severely impacted the learning process and students are looking at the other supplementary sources, hence, reducing the GST will ease the pressure of the parents especially those from lower or middle class and learning will be made affordable for all the sections of the society.

Over 200 million children lost a complete year of formal education due to the lack of proper digital infrastructure and unequipped teachers as Schools were shut across the country. Online education needed a dynamic digital infrastructure but due to lack of funds the schools could not impart education.  Education should reach each corner and the remotest of areas of India. The pandemic showed a mirror that we need to have a robust and improved digital infrastructure to reduce the digital divide of rural and urban.”

D).Credenc expectation from 2022 Union Budget:

Views By:  Avinash Kumar, Founder, Credenc

“The Government slashed its allocation towards education in the annual budget by 6% last year, amounting to a total allocation of Rs. 93,223 crores, against Rs. 99,311 crores in the year before that. This year, the education sector seeks higher allocation in the overall budget. With a considerable shift to virtual or online education models, ensuring access to better technology and improved e-Learning infrastructure should be prioritized to reduce the digital divide in smaller towns and cities.

As per All India Survey on Higher Education, the number of students entering higher education is at an all-time high (in 2019-20 the enrolment in higher education stood at 3.85 crore), and the outcome of these students’ success will be pivotal in determining not just their but also the country’s future. Thus, ensuring that quality education is accessible and affordable to these students should be a focus. Innovative Public Private bank partnership models where education subsidy is complemented/accompanies with subsidy on finance can help make this dream a reality.

Overall, we are hopeful that the government relaxes the education infrastructure loans and expands the income tax provision under Section 80C for deduction of education expenses.”

2.[REAL ESTATE and INFRASTRUCTURE Sector]:

A).Akshaya Pvt Ltd Pre-budget Quote

Attributed to:  Mr. T Chitty Babu, Chairman and CEO, Akshaya Pvt. Ltd.

The upcoming budget should play a major role in the recovery of the economy in general and particularly the real estate sector. The real estate sector is the second-highest employment generator in India. The Budget 2021 benefitted the first-time homebuyers in the affordable segment due to the additional interest deduction on home loans, stamp duty cuts, low-interest rates on home loans among others.  We expect that the Union Budget will have customer friendly announcements, such as tax reliefs to homebuyers that will benefit the affordable housing segment and a single-window system to fast track approvals. This will accelerate the pace of investment in this space.  In the last two years, a slew of measures has been introduced in the real estate sector to boost consumer sentiment and provide relief to the developers. However special focus should be given to certain other aspects to facilitate the overall growth of the sector. Measures like uniformity in GST for different housing segments, ease of cash flow for better project executions, strengthening the banking infrastructure to aid the developers as well as the homebuyers – can pave for a sustained growth. Revision in income tax slabs can spur buyer sentiment which was marred by COVID-19. The government should also help address the issue of labour shortage as it will go a long way in providing the right impetus and boost private investments in the sector.

B).PRE-BUDGET QUOTE BY Mr Kshitish Nadgauda, Senior VP and MD, Louis Berger International- Asia

“Our expectations representative of our industry are that the priority infrastructure schemes identified in PM Gati Shakti and the National Infrastructure Pipeline should be effectively implemented starting in 2022. There should be increased budgetary allocations for Metro Rail projects in Tier 1 and 2 cities, railways including high-speed and semi-high-speed intercity links, highways and expressways, ports and regional airports towards the much-needed development of the nation while concurrently achieving the necessary economic growth and generation of employment. A suitable framework should be established in the Budget for funding such programs and projects through debt financing through Development Financial Institutions, Infrastructure NBFCs, long-term investors such as domestic and foreign pension funds (FPFs), sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs), etc. While healthcare infrastructure has recently received a significant boost due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government needs concurrently to focus on boosting infrastructure spends across other sectors as well. Finally, the Government should also focus on the de-densification of urban settlements through low-cost housing programs and through the establishment of greenfield development nodes with state-of-the-art infrastructure away from existing urban centers”. – Kshitish Nadgauda, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Louis Berger International-Asia.

C).Pre-budget expectations by Mr. Kamal Khetan, CMD, Sunteck Realty Ltd

We expect the wheels of reforms and the impetus to the real estate sector to accelerate the growth of the GDP further, with the vision, “Housing for All by 2022” being at the centre of this year’s Budget. 

Enhancing the ambit of Affordable Housing: 

With regards to affordable housing, the Govt will have to revisit the nomenclature defining the segment to accommodate more people within metropolitan regions. Enhancing the cap (of Rs 45 lakhs) in metro cities to Rs 80 lakhs to Rs 1 crore will extend the benefit of affordable housing. Such a move would allow more buyers to avail of benefits like lower GST, Govt subsidies, and a tax deduction on interest repayment.

Other benefits: 

There is an expectation that the tax exemption on the interest would be hiked to Rs. 5 lakhs from the Rs 2 lakhs at present. There is also a need for deductions on home loan principal repayment as well as extending the loan repayment period to give more relief and inducement to buyers 

To sustain the current growth momentum, the sector needs to be accorded the infrastructure status that would improve liquidity in the sector. We also expect the input tax GST credit for developers and a reduction in stamp duty and registration charges – as announced by a few states last fiscal – to continue. The Govt must make more announcements to enhance the ease of doing business for developers.

 

3.[Consumer Durable industry]: 

Here is the pre-budget expectation for Consumer Durable industry on behalf of  GfK – a tech-enabled consumer & market intelligence company with expertise in tech & durables market with 10,000+ clients and 1 billion+ global revenue .GfK recently launched AI-supported intelligence platform “gfknewron” and is the only provider in the market to offer an integrated business intelligence platform.

Nikhil Mathur, Managing Director – India, GfK said, “In the coming Union Budget session, the industry is expecting an increased focus on energy-efficient products with reduced GST tax slabs and added incentives. Some reforms that is likely to boost manufacturing include reduction of corporate tax, expansion on Production Linked Incentives, rationalization of tax rates on products like Air conditioners, televisions, etc., The government’s commitment to make India a global manufacturing hub and ‘AtmaNirbhar’ with ‘Make in India’ vision will potentially help in increasing penetration and expansion of tech & durables market.”

4.[HEALTH-CARE, PHARMACEUTICAL & WELLNESS SECTOR]:

A).UNION BUDGET EXPECTATIONS 2022- Healthcare Sector Qoute By-

Dr Alok Roy, Chair, FICCI Health Services Committee and Chairman, Medica Group of Hospitals

COVID 19 has highlighted the significance of a robust healthcare system in the country and proved that you are only as strong as your healthcare systems. The healthcare sector, ravaged by an ongoing pandemic, demands increased outlays in healthcare expenditure, investment in research & innovation, and funds for the development of  suitable resources to strengthen the monitoring system of the public health system as a whole.

Union Budget 2022-23 has to be a forward looking budget as we are battling with a two year old plus pandemic affecting lives and livelihoods. This year’s Budget shall redefine India as it makes steps to emerge out from the crisis towards a path of sustainable growth.

The Centre’s Budgetary allocation to the healthcare sector should be increased to at least 2.5 per cent of the GDP to bridge several gaps that currently exist in the system. Further, tech driven-innovative healthcare solutions have played a pivotal role in fighting mankind’s biggest health crisis and healthcare providers have embraced these solutions to solve for accessibility. This year’s budget should focus on encouraging these solutions by way of tax benefits/ tax holidays and even establishing a healthcare innovation fund.

Though all our focus is on the COVID-19 pandemic at the moment, it is critical to increase spending on preventive healthcare and wellness. Ayushman Bharat is undeniably a positive step toward achieving the goal of universal healthcare; however, more funding is required to ensure its long-term success.

Healthcare funding through subsidized loans specially in Tier II & III cities need to be provided for as this shall help to reactivate the healthcare infrastructure sector which will further boost other supporting industries.

Identifying areas of for PPP models and a robust framework for PPP could help boost private sector investment, augment public capacity while improving efficiency. Government must accord due importance to operational viability gap funding, over &b above the capital VGF. This aspect is missing and that’s why most of the hospitals are unable to utilise the capital funding options provided by the banks.

This pandemic has also necessitated  for a more self-reliant India, —Atmanirbhar Bharat’. For Indian MedTech sector to be viable & sustaining, there has to be a waiver off the duty and CESS, releasing sectoral payment dues, to free up the working capital for investments in critical spare and lifesaving equipment. There is a huge scope for the medical device industry to flourish. Currently, India is among top 20 markets for medical devices globally. The market is expected to reach $50 billion in 2025. However, India currently imports 80 per cent of medical devices requirements. More emphasis should be placed in creating a commensurate ecosystem which will drive manufacturing within the country. More medical device parks like IT parks need to be built.

Reduction in GST and import duties is top on the agenda and Government must explore to simplify the FDI in healthcare sector. A mandatory/tax-incentivized health saving plan/scheme from early ages, private health insurance reforms to increase enrolment, and provide comprehensive cover for all the aspects of senior care.

We have seen in these last two years how the pandemic is resurfacing with different variants. This calls for a budget specifically dedicated for Covid19’s Research & Development (R&D) which will also guides the country in case of any such future pandemics.

We are hopeful that this year’s budget will show us the way on sustaining the economy to an 8 percent plus growth path after the slump of the pandemic.

B).PRE-BUDGET EXPECTATION QUOTE-By Dr. C.J. Vetrievel – Founder Chairman & Managing Director, Be Well Hospitals, Chennai

The excellent leadership and dedication shown by the Central Government while handling the pandemic is commendable and must take inspiration from the same. With the country battling the third wave of Covid-19, there is a huge gap in the healthcare system that needs to be addressed by various healthcare service providers to form a network. An effective public-private partnership (PPP) model should be proposed to ensure cost efficient operations are conducted. Additionally, the capital expenditure incurred on eligible healthcare projects in semi-urban and rural areas should be reduced for ventures with minimum 50 beds. This will help in reaching rural, semi-urban, peri-urban and suburban regions of the state by having a distributed healthcare delivery model rather than crowding in cities whilst providing quality healthcare services in the above said regions. Considering the shortage of medical manpower in the country, a weighted deduction of expenses incurred on skill development in the healthcare sector must be offered.

Input credit on various services availed is currently very high resulting in high cost of treatment which is borne by the patient. GST on rental property is not eligible for input credit making it a cost for the hospital. Alternatively, hospitals should also be given the ability to claim the refund of input credits, similar to the benefits availed by Export Oriented Units and Special Economic Zones. This will help in reducing the cost of rendering services to patients.

Healthcare sector needs to be considered as a priority and an essential service. Loans for working capital should also be provided to new borrowers under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS). These are some considerations that we are requesting from the Government in the upcoming Union Budget 2022.

C).The quote by Mr. G. Srinivasan, CEO, Athulya. Athulya, headquartered in Chennai, is India’s largest Assisted Living and leading home-healthcare service provider that offers services such as assisted living in senior living communities, senior living rental model, geriatric home healthcare services, and many more.

Athulya Industry: Elder Care service industry

Attributed to: Mr. G. Srinivasan, CEO, Athulya

Quote:“The changing dynamics of the healthcare industry post the outbreak of Covid-19 has elucidated the need for enhancing the skills of existing healthcare workers to facilitate better service.

Hence, initiatives to motivate youngsters to take up a career in the healthcare industry and to include continuous development programs in their curriculum to enhance their skills will address the current demand for healthcare professionals.

To help our senior citizens meet the rising cost of medical treatments we would request to increase the health insurance age limit for senior citizens and to include provisions to increase the coverage, irrespective of existing medical illnesses.

To increase the support and guidance given to start-ups, in the form of incentives towards building and developing healthcare technologies that would aid in early detection, monitoring, screening and diagnosis of health ailments. This will reduce our dependence on international companies for the same.

We would also expect the government to considerately reduce the taxes imposed on medical equipment that are very essential, which will result in bringing down the overall medical expenses for an individual with ailments and comorbidities. Eventually, helping our senior citizen community to fight the potential escalations in their medical bills.

And finally, to increase the tax benefits against their medical expenses and to revise the existing deduction for senior citizens as the cost of living has increased.”

D).PRE-BUDGET EXPECTATION QUOTE Attributed to Dr. Alok Khullar, CEO, Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai:

“The outbreak of Covid-19 has taught the healthcare sector some important lessons. The healthcare sector has and will continue to play a crucial role in saving lives, treating other ailments while tackling the pandemic. With the disruption caused to the healthcare sector during this period, we urge the government to give adequate importance to the healthcare sector in the upcoming Union Budget 2022 by considering –

• Special schemes that should be provided for formal training of doctors and nurses to enhance skills and bandwidth to offer care to a larger population which will help strengthen the quality of healthcare resources in the longer run
• Building capacity for Intensive Care by enhancing skills of nurses and by providing better equipment and infrastructure
• Significance to be given to Appropriate Screening for Non-Communicable Diseases to ensure timely diagnosis and treatment which will help in reduction of hospitalisation in the last minute
• Upgrading infrastructure at Primary Health Care level for early Outpatient treatment thus reducing Hospitalization time and cost
• Benefits to be given to manufacturers of Healthcare equipment & consumables under the ‘Make in India’ campaign for high quality products and healthcare equipment to be manufactured at reasonable costs
• Healthcare organisations must be given access to working capital and preferential funding to ensure that the overall cost of operations is reduced

Healthcare sector needs to be considered as a priority and an essential service. Various subsidies and benefits should be given on land rates and other necessities such as electricity, as it will pave for accessible and affordable healthcare with better infrastructure and high quality treatment improving access to care and better patient outcomes.”

5.[TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY SECTOR]: 

Matrimony.com – Pre-budget expectation quote

Mr. Sushanth Pai, Chief Financial Officer, Matrimony.com stated that, “Some sectors such as travel and hospitality have been heavily impacted due to the current situation. The budget should focus on support to revive such sectors. A study of all the policy reforms needs to be undertaken with greater intensity to see how they can be implemented effectively and with speed, so that the basic ecosystem of well-being can be boosted.”

6.[TECHNOLOGY AND IT]: 

Budget Expectation from Alok Dubey, CFO, Acer India

“We are hoping this Budget, the government announces steps to revitalize and reorganise the economy which has been impacted by the pandemic. This can be a positive start to encourage sustainable growth and push Digital Infrastructure- 5G, edge computing, and secured data management in India. The comprehensive program for the “development of sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem in the country” will be a boost in making India a global hub of electronic system design and manufacturing but we would like to see reforms that will drive consumption and improve consumer demand. We are optimistic about the upcoming budget and expect it to usher in a balanced combination of reforms and regulations which will, in turn, boost Digital India, contributing positively to India’s growth story.”

7.[MSME & SME Enterprises Sector]: 

A).Ramanujam Komanduri, Country Manager, India, Pure Storage

“With restrictions in place amidst the third wave of Covid, large enterprises as well as small businesses are seeing a dip in their business activities. Both corporates and taxpayers expect relief in the form of rebates in direct and indirect taxes in the upcoming budget. We also expect the introduction of simplified compliances to facilitate the ease of doing business. The Finance Ministry could also introduce special stimulus packages to the MSME sector which is vital for economic revival. There may also be a positive surprise in the form of a relaxation of GST regulation and relief for sectors that have particularly suffered during the pandemic. The Government, to provide further impetus to business growth, could also introduce fiscal policy initiatives to build a strong digital infrastructure for MSMEs and enterprises.

While India has one of the most dynamic technology ecosystems globally, we hope that the government will reaffirm its commitment to ‘Digital India’ through appropriate allocations and policies in this Union budget.”

B).Vipul Singh, Founder & CEO of Aarav Unmanned Systems (AUS): “In this Union Budget, we expect the government to promote the start-up ecosystem in the country and announce steps that will ease raising funds and create a favourable environment to conduct business. With Covid 19 pandemic, we have witnessed an accelerated process of digital transformation. We cannot deny that the pandemic has pushed people and businesses to adopt new ways to do things and reorient their behaviours. The government’s announcing the Drone Rules 2021 and PLI scheme for the drone industry has given a push to this industry. Many drone companies in India have signed new deals to start large-scale, commercial business-to-business (B2B) drone operations in 2022. With this budget, we will expect the government to simplify policies, create a strong credit system for MSMEs and provide better working capital support that would help drone companies to scale up manufacturing and leverage the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. We will also witness employment opportunities which we believe are important for revival in demand post covid era.”

C).Pre-budget expectations by Experian India: Quote by Mr. Neeraj Dhawan, Managing Director, Experian India

• Measures for SME lending to accelerate and succeed: Helping MSMEs build a good credit line and a credit history is the need of the hour. A good credit line will help them with quick and easy access to secured credit, also assuring the lenders such as banks on the risk they will be underwriting. For this purpose, providing Credit Bureaus with access to utilities bills data, cash flows and invoices data, income tax data, and GST and expanding the scope of the Bureau data to include alternate data will be effective steps to scale up credit access to MSMEs. Mandating Permanent Account Number (PAN) for all commercial reporting to Credit Bureaus is a necessary step helping build credit history that the government could consider bringing to effect.

• Allow deduction for expenditure of covid treatment who do not have health insurance: The government should provide tax relief to the people who are paying for medical treatment of Covid-19 on their own. Extended tax relief should be provided for the expenditure on medical treatment of the covid affected to those who didn’t have medical insurance. These individuals have carried the devastating financial impact of Covid-19 on their own.

• Optimizing tax slabs for the salaried taxpayer: The expectation of citizens from the upcoming budget remains high. The suggestion that is already in the circles for the government to consider increasing the annual tax deduction limit for repayment of home loan principal under Section 80C of the Income Tax act will be a good step forward. Increasing it from the current cap of INR 2 lakhs to 5 lakhs will provide huge benefits to the salaried taxpayer and at the same time boost the real estate industry with increase housing demand. Further adjusting tax slabs with the increase in other deductions can help the salaried taxpayer, specifically the below INR 50 lakhs per annum bracket with more money in hand.

• Measures for digital skilling and technology incubation: The digital payment industry is playing an influential role in ushering transparency and formalization of the economy. To further promote the industry by supporting new business deployment solutions the government could consider incentivizing Venture Capitalists and Private Equity players and other investors to fund Research & Development and technology infrastructure upgradation in India.

• Measures to propel and encourage fintechs that are serving the under-credited: A large population of India in the likes of the blue-collared workers, construction workers and house-helps who don’t fall under the formal employment segment are in need of access to credit. Helping this under-credited segment with access to unsecured loans provided by certain fintechs will provide a significant domino effect for the entire upliftment of the society and the economy at large. The government should consider providing incentives to these fintechs that are lending to the under-credited to encourage more fintechs to serve this segment and also effectively manage the risk being underwritten.

8.[AUTO INDUSTRY and AUTOMOBILE SECTOR]: 

Pre-budget expectation quote – Budget Story 2022

Mr. Farrokh Cooper, Chairman & Managing Director, Cooper Corporation said “The forthcoming Union Budget for 2022 should emphasise measures to help the Indian economy recover from the pandemic and to boost consumption-led demand. The auto industry expects relief from the Union Budget in multiple areas. To achieve sustainable growth, business communities should be encouraged to invest more in industry and businesses. I believe that the government should fix industry income rates for at least five years so that industrialists can make long-term financial planning and take appropriate decisions about investment in their industries. 

Furthermore, the government is now encouraging businesses to establish large industries, and they should be treated equally with medium and small industries in terms of receiving timely payments from the government and private sectors so that they can pay small and medium enterprises. Furthermore, the government should priorities managing inflation and lowering the cost of raw materials and fuel. To boost exports, existing incentives must be increased. There is also a need to accelerate the GST refund procedure to provide liquidity to the industries. The industry is also eagerly awaiting news on the scrappage policy. Given the current market conditions, we anticipate significant initiatives to revive growth and boost investor confidence in the upcoming Union Budget”.

9.[BANKING and FINANCE SECTOR]: 

A).Pre-Budget Expectation by Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, MD & CEO, AU Small Finance Bank

QUOTE: “MSME sector is gradually recovering from the impact of the pandemic and needs continued handholding and policy support to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the evolving global supply chain dynamics. Given the strong employment generation potential of the MSME sector, my humble request is that the upcoming budget should include affirmative measures and schemes to support MSMEs and make access to capital for MSMEs simpler and seamless so that they can play a meaningful role in the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives of the Government.”

Ends