MIXED REACTIONS OVER UNION BUDGET 2019-20

Author(s): City Air NewsUnion Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 5, 2019 tabled budget for the FY 2019-20. We received reactions on the same from various sectors. The reactions are as under: “The expectations were quite high as...

cityairnews Jul 6, 2019 12:30 0

MIXED REACTIONS OVER UNION BUDGET 2019-20

Author(s):

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 5, 2019 tabled budget for the FY 2019-20. We received reactions on the same from various sectors. The reactions are as under:

“The expectations were quite high as Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her maiden budget showing thrust on affordable housing. The major highlight of the budget was the proposal of the additional tax deduction of Rs 1.50 lakh on interest paid on home loans taken up to March 2020 for purchase of an affordable house valued up to Rs 45 lakh. This move is expected to benefit the homebuyers on a large extent and will bring the fence-sitters back in the market driving demand. The Government’s support to the NBFC sector will address the liquidity crisis which has spread its wings from past year or so. Also, the reforms to promote rental housing will provide a much needed boost in Government’s vision of Housing for All. The allocation of Rs 100 lakh crore investments for infrastructure will eventually boost the residential and commercial markets thereby propelling the growth of the real estate industry.”
-Hiral Sheth - HOD, Marketing, Sheth Creators

“This budget is based on the philosophy of reform, perform and transform. Naturally, the focus is more on rural economy, women, youth and infrastructure. Special sops to buyers of affordable housing units of up to 45 lacs will give boost to housing sector in the short term.”
- Sachchidanand Rai, Chairman - Eden Realty Group
“The government continues to tread on its stated path. The increase in the limit on interest deduction on affordable housing should give a boost to that sector.”
- Nakul Himatsingka, Managing Director, Ideal Group

“The message of the new FM and indeed the Modi 2.0 government is very clear: Make housing affordable and make only affordable housing.
Our developer fraternity needs to understand and appreciate the same.
The writing on the wall is that super rich and those in the highest tax brackets should not expect any sops and in fact should cross subsidise the poor.
The government is not Anti Rich, but they expect the Rich individuals and corporations to be pro poor.
The budget signals the foundation of a truly balanced and self-disciplined society.
The boost in affordable housing tax benefit and startup valuations relief is commendable as well. It shows that this is a feedback oriented budget.”
- Rishi Jain, Managing Director, Jain Group

“I would like to congratulate the Honourable PM Narendra Modi and FM Nirmala Sitharaman for Budget 2019-20. The full budget presented by FM Nirmala Sitharaman as the first budget of Modi Sarkar 2.0 will give a significant boost to the economy. Keeping in mind the real estate industry, this budget looks hopeful for both real estate developers and home buyers. Tax rebates & interest on housing loan in the affordable housing sector will attract more home buyers. Rental Housing promotion is another advantage to the industry. I am really happy with the better credit tenure by NBFCs as this will benefit the real estate developers. The housing sales is also aimed at getting higher with the increase of carpet area limit.
- Sanjay Jain, Managing Director, Siddha Group

“The Union Budget 2019-20 has laid major impetus on reforming the economy. A pro-development budget focusing on youth empowerment and infrastructure development, the Modi 2.0 Government's announcement of increasing the limit on interest deduction on affordable housing, is surely going to promote the affordable housing segment.”
-Abhishek Bhardwaj, Chief Marketing Officer, Shristi Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.

“The Union Budget reiterates the Government’s intent to accelerate digitisation in the economy. Incentivising digital transactions through measures such as a 2% levy on cash withdrawals from bank accounts above a cumulative one crore per annum threshold and reduced merchant discount rates can structurally change adoption levels. Additionally, encouraging measures for start-ups should boost digital entrepreneurship as well as efforts to increase digital literacy particularly in rural India will strengthen the Digital India transformation process.”
-Surojit Shome, CEO DBS Bank India

“The Union Budget 2019 is marked with a long term 10-year vision while retaining focus on the immediate priorities. The government’s roadmap to position the economy for future sustainable growth will resonate with both domestic and international stakeholders. India now approaching the global markets to raise sovereign debt, indicates the country’s readiness to be sized amongst the best in the world. This is a huge vote of confidence in the economy and its trajectory.
The focused impetus for sustainable job creation via targeted investment in infrastructure projects and other productive sectors of the economy, will have a cascading effect on secondary and tertiary employment. The mission to provide housing for all by 2022 has the potential not just for growth in downstream sectors such as cement and steel but also for overall job creation in these crucial industries.
We are happy to see the government signal its confidence for a well-financed, robust NBFC sector through the one-time six-month partial credit guarantee. This development would be an important milestone for the NBFC sector that is crucial for the sustained growth of the economy. We welcome the regulations and norms that have been proposed by the Finance Minister on the NBFC sector that would raise transparency and reinstate trust in this vital sector.
The detailed plan of action provided in this budget to address long standing issues like a deeper debt market by invoking higher foreign participation will certainly help in lowering the real borrowing costs of India Inc. and help revive the momentum in private investment.
The move to encourage higher participation of FIIs and FPIs in debt securities would provide the much-needed capital boost which would in turn, support real estate and automobile sectors that are currently suffering from dampened demand.
In addition, the proposed social stock exchange is an innovative approach to raise funds for institutions committed to improving the wellbeing of larger masses. The government has tabled a growth-positive budget and I look forward to see its impact unfold in the coming months.“
-Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Group

“Government has taken two major initiatives to formalize and control financial institutions in the country. Recently there has been a crisis in the NBFC sector and the steps taken by the Government will help the NBFCs to raise the money quite easily, because they have been the backbone of growth in India. Including the interior and rural areas. Thus helping increase the GDP of the country as well as the real estate sector on the whole. So one of the big positive steps taken by the Government is to support the NBFCs in infusing more funds into the sector. Secondly a second major move, which must be lauded, is to bring all housing finance companies under the ambit of the RBI. RBI has been controlling only the banks uptil now while the housing finance companies were being managed by the NHB (National Housing Bank). RBI will bring in more fiscal discipline and we expect all NBFCs to be more structured and tightly regulated guaranteeing a boost to not only the sector but overall growth for the country. I believe these are the two major announcements made in the budget today that will have a positive impact on the realty sector.
Amongst some of the other initiatives the Finance Minister has announced, much is being proposed to continue their push towards Affordable Housing. Several reforms would be undertaken to promote rental housing which indicates that a modern tenant law will be formulated. To provide further impetus to affordable housing, additional deduction of 1.5 lakh rupees on interest paid on loans borrowed up to 31 March 2020 for purchase of house up to ₹45 lakh. The government’s consistent efforts towards Housing for All by 2022 is very encouraging for us as a business and also as consumers. To provide further impetus to affordable housing, additional deduction of 1.5 lakh rupees on interest paid on loans borrowed up to 31 March 2020 for purchase of house up to ₹45 lakh. The government’s consistent efforts towards Housing for All by 2022 is very encouraging for us as a business and also as consumers.”
-Sachin Bhandari, CEO, VTP Realty

“The Finance Minister has done a commendable job of addressing breadth of issues important for the economy. In particular, focus on infrastructure and measure to ease liquidity including recapitalization of public sector banks should help addressing growth requirements. The budget has kept in mind demands of various sectors while remaining within fiscal prudence and controlling fiscal deficit. These measures coupled with initiatives on R&D and skill development will help in employment generation, and fuel growth. The focus on clean energy is a welcome step. We welcome measures announced to provide much needed support to Electrical Vehicle manufacturing. It is heartening to see the measures cover both demand side push and supply side support in the form of incentives and reduced taxes. We would like to see more measures to address EV infrastructure investment requirements.”
-JK Gupta, Chief Financial Officer, Tata Technologies

“The Union Budget 2019 has come across as all-inclusive, seeking to boost infrastructure and foreign investment, and at the same time giving impetus to a digital economy. The government has announced no fee on merchants on card transaction in order to encourage all merchants to accept card payments. Further 2% TDS has been proposed on cash withdrawals of above 1 cr. This move will boost digital transactions in the country. For the insurance sector, the government proposed a100% FDI for insurance intermediaries, thereby making India a more attractive destination for FDI. This is a positive move for the industry, and may help better penetration of insurance products.”
- Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance

“Firstly, it was very heartening to see a woman break another glass ceiling by presenting the Indian budget as the first full-time female Finance Minister. It clearly shows that when given equal opportunities, there is no barrier a woman cannot cross. The Finance Minister also clearly underlined that the country cannot progress unless the condition of women is improved. In this regard, the expansion of the Women Self Help Group (SHG) Interest Subvention Programme across all districts is a highly welcome announcement. It will help empower women by encouraging women entrepreneurship. Making one woman in every SHG eligible for a loan of 1 lakh rupees under MUDRA scheme will open a host of entrepreneurial and social upliftment opportunities for women. The FM also proposed a committee to evaluate and suggest measures to improve women's welfare. I would like to request the government that this committee must also include women from rural areas and those who are in touch with the grassroots. Also, we are still in hope when mental health will be part of the insurance policy, that will not just help women in general but also the entire population who suffers from this problem.’’
- Dr. Prakriti Poddar, an expert in Mental Health, Education, HR and Business Upliftment, Managing Trustee of Poddar Foundation and Director Poddar Wellness Ltd.

“This new budget is a great incentive for universities looking up and trying to improve higher education. The inclusion of fee waivers for meritorious foreign students would definitely boost the number of international students in India. The National Education Policy (NEP) would further strengthen the research funding in the academic institutes without worrying for external funds”.
- Satyam Roychowdury, Founder and MD, Techno India Group and Chancellor, Sister Nivedita University

“We highly commend the Government’s efforts to transform higher education and expand skill development to help raise the employability quotient of the nation, and thereby positively impact the economic growth of the country. ACCA supports the Government’s visionary leadership in its mission to take emerging technologies such as AI and Machine Learning to students nationwide. We applaud the Government for its vision in New National Education policy and the direction it has laid out for the next generation of students.”
- Sajid Khan, Head International Development, ACCA

“The Economic Survey, the Budget Speech and the Finance Bill complement each other in an effective way to pave the path for real GDP growth rate of 8% envisioned in the Economic Survey To this end , the Budget rightly gives an impetus to the financing of the infrastructure sector by announcing the intention of the government to invest Rs. 1 lakh crore in infrastructure in the next five years and recognising the need to build upon our learnings of development finance institutions to fund long-term infrastructure projects and the setting up of a Committee in this regard. Once constituted, the Committee could examine the issue of asset liability mismatches faced by banks and financial institutions. The emphasis on deepening the long-term bond market for the infrastructure sector is also very welcome. This policy fillip for infrastructure finance will in turn buttress the highway, infrastructure corridor and power related targets and structural reforms in the Budget.
The Economic Survey as well the Finance Bill do well to recognize both the potential for the NBFC sector to be a diverse and efficient source of finance as well as the challenges presently faced by the sector. In this regard, the amendments to the RBI Act to enhance the regulatory authority of the RBI over NBFCs demonstrate the responsiveness of the government and regulator to market realities and an evolved regulatory framework to address them. This is further evidenced by the manner in which the RBI could propose the resolution of NBFCs including the splitting viable and non-viable businesses in separate “bridge institutions” to preserve the continuity of the activities of the NBFC that may be central for the financial sector- this reflects a careful balance between acting swiftly in resolution as well as maintaining the stability of the financial sector. By vesting the regulation of housing finance companies with the RBI there is a move to shift regulation by function rather than mere form, as well as a recognition of the interconnectedness of the financial sector.”
- L Viswanathan, Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas

"The Budget gives a major boost to startups by promising to provide skills, incubation as well as initiate measures that will strengthen the culture of entrepreneurship in India. The Finance Minister laid down an objective of setting up 80 “livelihood business incubators" and 20 tech business incubators to create 75,000 skilled entrepreneurs under the agro rural industries. This is a very important measure for the Indian economy. An inordinately large number of Indians currently rely on agriculture for livelihood, and the move to boost entrepreneurship in the rural-agro space will help shift people out of core agricultural activities. Another major relief for startups is the easing of regulations on angel tax. The fact the government has promised not to scrutinize startups and their investors for valuations removes a major headache for investment-hungry startups.”
- Manoj Mehta, Chairman,JIIF-JITO Incubation & Innovation Foundation and Owner MTC group and Madhuban Announcement

"FM Nirmala Sitharaman's first budget has given a generous boost to startups. The move by the finance minister to set up a TV program to be run by the startups themselves will help them get traction by venture capitalists, and aid in job creation, bringing down our historical high unemployment rates. The easing of regulatory norms for angel tax assessment will also provide welcome relief to the startup community, although an angel tax holiday would have gone a long way towards cementing the government’s commitment to promoting entrepreneurship in line with the Startup India initiative. The proposal to establish a central National Research Foundation to assimilate and disburse funds from all ministries is a long term strategy that will help optimally funnel public money for the purposes of research. The reduction of corporate tax to 25% for companies with an annual turnover up to Rs. 400 crores will provide a much needed financial relief for over 99 % of the companies, and we are glad that the finance minister brought it up in this budget."
- Kewal Kapoor, Director & Creative Strategist, CHAI Kreative and Return of Million Smiles

“We welcome the move by honourable FM to improve the skills of our youth in newer areas such as AI, Big Data, etc. In fact, we at Bobble AI would be happy to contribute in such moves, given a chance. We feel India is lagging behind big time and we have to catch up with the US and China on AI front faster. Due to the scarcity of such talent in India, we had to bring back people like Mrinal Sourav from US to India in such roles.
Again, we appreciate the move to resolve the issue of Angel Tax and the government's intent but we don't see the plan in action yet given multiple cases where startups including us were harassed by IT department for no good reason. We are hopeful that the situation will change with increased intervention and checks and balances being introduced by govt”.
-Ankit Prasad, CEO & Founder, Bobble AI

"This year's Union Budget has come with a number of positive news vis-a-vis the logistics sector. This includes Railways Infrastructure enhancement with an earmarked capital of Rs. 50 lakh crore, leveraging inland waterways for freight transportation, restructuring of National Highways Programme with creation of National Highways Grid, improvement of last-mile delivery especially in rural geographies, and a mammoth Rs. 100 crore investment in infrastructure over the coming five years. We believe that all of these measures, coupled with ongoing reforms, will bring positive results on ground in the near future."
-Chander Agarwal, MD, TCIEXPRESS

“With the limited resources at her command, the FM has managed a balancing act. The effort to increase liquidity into the system and the focus on start-ups are two welcome steps. Efforts to make the Tax Regime simpler including Faceless Tax Assessment and streamlining GST Refunds are noteworthy. The focus on Infrastructure spending, on roads, railways, etc. as well as push for rural and urban housing has the potential to kick start industrial consumption and activity.”
-Rishabh C. Kothari, President, Fragrances and Flavours Association of India (FAFAI) and Chairman, MSME, Merchants Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI)

‘’The first ever budget presented by a woman finance minister is a matter of pride for me and all women in the country. Mrs Sitharaman has done a commendable job in the prudent allocation of funds. We hope that the execution of the vision is also as diligently carried out. This budget has shown the government’s commitment towards the education sector. We look forward to the new education policy for school and higher education which should also focus on the training of teachers and the methodology for creative learning. With the quality of education growing in the country, it is encouraging that the government is allocating INR 400 cr for the development of the sector. I also strongly believe in Mahatma Gandhi’s ideologies and Creating a Gandhi-pedia is a welcome move not only for Indian youth but also the world. India’s skills are well acknowledged globally, and many countries are thriving because of skilled Indian people. What we need to focus on in Skill India is developing this further through hands on teaching methods which are supported by practical work. The Finance Minister has addressed the major concerns about taxation of sections, except the senior citizens. ”
-Radha Bhatia- Chairperson- Bird Group

"Budget and Finance are integral in shaping up the discourse of consumption, especially for education. Depending upon the robust budgetary reforms can the educational framework thrive. India has been one of the forerunners in imparting quality educations, from traditional Dharamshalas to modern cloud schools, with the support of the government. Yet skilling is a segment which requires a closer look as India still in grips with acute skill shortage- the gap between education imparted and the skills required, is vast. As a solution, this, 2019 budget has brought a great amount of hope. Government's move to have 75,000 skilled entrepreneurs is set to boost skill development and job creation. For this, the government has proposed to focus on creating training modules for industry-relevant skills like AI, IoT and Big Data. This, in turn, will help address the severe skill shortage technology and IT companies are facing right now. ICA heralds this move and pledges to continue creating such path-breaking curriculum, empowering students to reach to the zenith.”
-Dr. Narendra Shyamsukha, Founder & Chairman, ICA Edu Skills

"Indian education has seen its set of ups and downs, from the earlier tropes of traditionally moulded education to modern-cutting edge brand of learning. As India moves towards a progressive future, the yearly budget casts vast implications on how the educational system will thrive and upgrade itself. Skilling is a crucial aspect of national growth, as India is still in grips with acute skill shortage- students are not getting an apt education for them to be relevant in the job scenario. In this case, bridging the skill gap, with relevant education, has been a critical issue begging to be addressed. As a respite, the government has responded to this via some wonderful and robust reforms, primed to empower the educational scenario. Government's move to have 75,000 skilled entrepreneurs will help boost skill development and job creation. Training of 10 million in industry-relevant skills like AI, IoT, and Big Data will help address the severe skill shortage technology and IT companies are facing right now. Skilling in these areas, which are valued highly within and outside the country, will ensure that the students can secure high paying jobs both in India and abroad. Certainly, India is set to reach it’s shinning status in a short span of time, with such reforms.”
-Martin Radley, Co-Founder, Carter Radley.

“ A nation’s prosperity is directly proportional to its proficiency in education and the ability to churn the shortcomings into spaces of opportunity. India has always held pride in being the nation of radicals and thinkers, with world leaders and change-makers emerging as the sons and daughters of the nation. A great deal of positives has taken place - To upgrade the quality of teaching, the GYAN was started, bringing in the global pool of scientists and researchers. From zero presence in top 200 universities ranking, we now have 3 institutions in the top 200 global institutions bracket, cementing India’s name in contention for global excellence in education. The present 2019 edition of the Budget has instilled the collective faith in the efficacy and judicious nature of the government. Much emphasis has been administered on research as proved by the announcement that the National Education Policy (NEP) will have a National Research Foundation to promote research. This will help financially empower the research ecosystem among universities across the country, without any external funding. To make India a hub of higher education the government proposes 'Study in India' to bring in foreign students to pursue education here, thereby urging universities to revamp their systems. These, along with the government’s proposal of allocating Rs 400 crore for world-class higher education institutions in the country, make this budget a decisive victory for the Indian educational system.”
-Dr. Pankaj Gupta, President, IIHMR University, Jaipur

“Education has been one of the crucial pillars in which the prosperity of any nation has stood, defining and addressing the economic variances and the cultural build-up that its citizens imbibe. For a dynamic and evolving nation like India, where the majority of the brilliant minds hail from, it is especially important to empower the educational sector of the nation. The 2019 Budget has brought in an extension to the Prime Minister’s crusade in empowering educational framework of the nation. With the proposed National Education Policy, primed to transform the higher education system, India’s think tank is set to be on par with the global standards, with an intrinsic focus on practical knowledge. To make India a hub of higher education the government proposes 'Study in India' to bring in foreign students to pursue education here, creating the perfect base for India to garner the global educational renaissance in their own ground. These come out to encourage universities in elevating their standard and curriculum while providing international recognition to homegrown ‘think factories’. Universities are spurred to contribute in creating a congruent environment for education and such developments are welcomed.”
-Asheesh Gupta, Pro Vice-Chancellor, JK Lakshmipat University, Jaipur.

"The union budget presented by Finance Minister Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman has a lot of ambitious proposals to overhaul India’s education system. The goal to make India an educational hub with the Study in India program is ambitious, and we look forward to a concrete roadmap from the HRD ministry to make this a reality. The GYAN initiative that was kicked off to attract educators and researchers from abroad saw a welcome step forward in the budget with a proposal by the central government to setup a National Research Foundation under the National Education Policy. It will help pool together the funds from all ministries and optimally funnel them for the purposes of research, and we look forward to more details on the implementation strategy from the management committee. The government’s decision to train young people in fields like AI, Robotics, and Big Data will help with their continuing education and equip them to secure employment and stay relevant in the competitive job market."
-Savitha Kuttan, Founder & CEO, Omnicuris that provides digital CME & training to medical practitioner

“Indian economy is all set to become a $3 trillion economy and the first Budget by the Modi government has introduced several benefits. Budget Proposes More Foreign Investment in Media, currently the FDI stands at 49% for the private FM radio industry which we now hope will be opened up to 100% like DTH and Entertainment. Liberalization of same will also majorly help in private FM station to reach the current media dark cities in India and adapt new era digital technologies and best practices being followed globally. The budget facilitates the transformation of the Indian economy into a digital economy with special focus on cash less transactions . We hope that in long run, we will be able to derive the benefits of the special initiatives and incentives announced by the Financial Minister for tax rebate on e-vehicles, push for affordable housing, increase in the turnover limit of 400 crore for companies to fall in the tax bracket of 25%. Additional deduction benefit on home loans, focus on empowering women and announcing infrastructure push for railways, highways and education will also be beneficial for the radio sector.”
- Nisha Narayanan, COO and Director, RED FM and Magic FM

“The Union Budget 2019 sends out a positive signal about NBFCs and reaffirms the government’s continued support to the sector. The partial credit guarantee for PSU banks to purchase consolidated high rated pooled assets of NBFCs and the relaxation of the DRR norms for public issuance of debentures will give a fillip to debt access for NBFCs with sound fundamentals and performance track record. Additionally, increasing RBI’s regulatory authority over NBFCs will help further strengthen the sector and boost investor confidence”
- Gaurav Kumar, Co-Founder and Director, Vivriti Capital

“I would congratulate the Finance Minister on the Union Budget 2019. For a country like India, where we are trying to address multiple sensitive factors viz. jobs, taxation, corporate, rural, growth, spends, inflation, fiscal, etc., it’s always a very complex balancing act.
Making it easier for investors to operate FPIs is extremely important for us right now. Especially with the current scene in the bond market and the pressure on our fiscal deficit. We have bonds close to INR 5 trillion expected to mature in this FY20, out of which a large chunk is for the non-banking lenders. Hence the move to make FPIs simpler is a welcome move. The move on Angel Tax and reduced unnecessary scrutiny will be welcomed by younger startups that are raising angel money. Although there’s still a lot more to be done on this front, it’s a start.
Digital Push via a move like eliminating or reducing MDR for cashless payments further is a great sign. This decision has more positive implications than what’s immediately obvious. While it will make transactions more convenient, encourage payment Fintechs to innovate around this space and reduce cash pilferage, it also has a 2nd order positive effect of increasing the digital handshake between a consumer and the BFSI sector. Meaning that technologies like Blockchain and API based financial solutions get a solid, data-rich platform with all the digital transactions.
I’m optimistic about this Budget, and at MoneyTap, we’ll continue to help address the credit gap in our country in a responsible way.”
- Kunal Varma, Co-founder & Head of Products, MoneyTap,

“This Budget has come as a pleasant surprise for the EV industry as the announcements are more than what we were expecting. Initially, there were doubts in the minds of investors about the intentions of the Government in terms of EV industry, but the announcements made in the current year’s budget have definitely quelled their doubts. Also, with this budget Government has shown its commitment by making it amply clear that EV manufacturing is the next big thing in its vision. Now, it is the responsibility of industry to raise to the expectations of the Government and work towards more localization. An income tax deduction of INR 1.5 Lacs on interest paid for buying an EV will certainly encourage the public and we will see a surge in the EV adoption.”
- N Nagasatyam, Executive Director, Olectra Greentech

“Overall the budget announcements look positive and people friendly. The new reforms like funds raised by start-ups will not require scrutiny of tax department is a positive move for start-ups apart from special programs that will be aired on Doordarshan for start-ups by start-ups will help in educating and motivating the budding entrepreneurs in semi urban and rural regions. I personally laud the move for an additional fund allocation at 2% interest for loans taken by MSMEs and this is a great move by the government.”
“Across the world crowd funding platforms are known but Electronic fundraising platform (social stock exchange) for listing social enterprises is a breakthrough move by the government for organizations working in social sector, although speed of its implementation is going to be critical.”
- Rahul Paith, Chief Operating Officer, DocOnline

“This Budget included many development reforms for the Indian economy including developing skills resulting into creation of employment. Though there were no new announcements in this budget specific to healthcare and biotech/life sciences, however in the interim budget earlier this year, already an allocation of INR 61,398 crore was announced for the health sector for the 2019-2020 fiscal which was a 16% increase in the last year’s allocation. This showcases that healthcare has a strong focus from the government. Under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the construction of toilets making more than 5.6 lakh villages Open Defecation Free (ODF) will also play a role in reducing many food and water-borne diseases getting spread.”
- Dr. Prasanna Deshpande, Deputy Managing Director, Indian Immunologicals Limited (a leading biological company)

“Several initiatives and programmes are underway at the national level to position the country on its path to become a 5 trillion-dollar economy. The current budget clearly reiterates, re-emphasises, and extends some of the important initiatives. The greater attention on infrastructure, road and sea connectivity, railway modernization, and aviation sectors will give a leg up to the economic growth and create new employment.
I firmly believe entrepreneurship is one effective vehicle for creating employment and generating wealth in a country like India. It is encouraging to see simplified tax regime for start-ups, the extension of 25% tax rate to enterprises with revenues up to INR 400 Cr, and initiatives to integrate informal sections into the economic value chain. I am certain the evolving entrepreneurial ecosystem and continued rise in ease of doing business ranking will bring about greater innovation and expanded engagement of our population in the economic activity.
In the backdrop of accelerating changes in technology and globalization, success in knowledge-based economies is largely dependent on the capabilities of the people. The budget envisaged New Education Policy and the Higher Education Commission of India. These are the initiatives in the right directions as it is pertinent that we turn our focus immediately on empowering the youth with relevant knowledge and skills on par with the global standards and expand our research and innovation potential. The continued emphasis on skill development with focus on new-age skills in AI, IoT, big data, 3D printing, virtual reality, and robotics is commendable as it addresses the impending skill shortages across industries.
In short, I should say, the budget reinforces the government’s commitment to growth through investment and improving the social infrastructure of the country.”
- BVR Mohan Reddy, Executive Chairman, Cyient

“We are excited to see government’s continued focus on renewable energy. Promoting Solar enabled charging stations for Electric Vehicles and encouraging manufacturing of Solar Photo Voltaic cells under Make in India will boost the growth of Solar Industry. In addition to this we feel that an income tax benefit on the interest taken for Solar installation would have helped in more adoption of the Solar power at residential and industrial level”.
- Radhika Choudary, Co-Founder and Director, Freyr Energy

"We believe that this year's Union Budget has been perfectly balanced by our new Finance Minister. The Government has promised hassle-free experience to foreign portfolio investors and is planning to streamline KYC to make it more investor-friendly. Innovative Aadhaar-based solutions can prove to be a game changer in this development and can introduce robust security while also ensuring seamless processes. The Government is also considering to grant Aadhaar Cards to NRIs via their Indian passports, preventing them from needlessly waiting for 180 days as is the case at present. Another positive takeaway from this year's Union Budget is the interchangeability of PAN and Aadhaar for the filing of ITR, which directly augments the usability of Aadhaar system and its wide-ranging solutions." Siddharth Kukatlapalli,Co-founder and CBO, Syntizen.
Today, as India is leaving no stone unturned in terms of digital adoption, the Government is taking all the right measures to further catalyze this development. It is enhancing the rural infrastructure while also making it easier for Indian MSMEs to increase their digital footprint. The creation of single-window platform for end-to-end bill payments of MSMEs is one of these steps and will augment digital adoption of Indian MSMEs. The Government has also promised to extend loans of up to Rs. 1 crore to MSMEs, perfectly in line with the vision of financial inclusion. Both of these developments, i.e. digital enablement and financial inclusion, will make it considerably easier to lend to the segment and unlock the true potential of this growth engine."
-Vivek Tiwari, MD & CEO, Satya MicroCapital

"There have been several key takeaways from this year's Union Budget vis-a-vis the startup community. Primarily, the Government has resolved the raging issue of Angel Tax by eliminating scrutiny around valuation of share premium. It will also put in place a mechanism for e-verification to eliminate tax scrutiny around funds raised by startups as well. This will act as a catalyst in driving investment towards our startup segment and promote cutting-edge technological solutions. It has also proposed measures to carry forward and set off losses for startups while increasing the period of exemption for capital gains through sale of residential houe for startup-centric investment up to March 2021. Moreover, the Indian startup community will soon be witnessing another wave of startup boom from rural geographies as the Government will be launching a dedicated startup programme on DD National, 80 Liveliood Business Incubators and 20 Technology Business Incubators for rural artisans. As a cherry on the top, a slew of reforms have also been introduced for Indian NBFCs including foreign investment, government guarantee for PSB loans, one-time six month partial credit guarantee to buy pooled assets, and quick loans of up to Rs. 1 crore for Indian MSMEs. This is being done while also promoting research and development around avant-garde technologies including Artificial Intelligence and Big Data. Perhaps, all of these measures were the need of the hour for our startup community and will create conducive environment for futuristic and globally scalable businesses in India."
-Anuj Golecha,Co-Founder Venture Catalysts

“The union budget released by Finance Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, is a significant one for India’s manufacturing sector as well as the machine tool industry. As the first ever budget presented by a full-time woman finance minister in India the budget looks a promising one to arrest downturn and steer the country’s economy in the right direction.

The lower 25% corporate tax on companies with turnover of upto Rs. 400 crore is expected to boost investments. It is a positive step towards development of MSME sector and enhancing their production capacities. Machine tool industry is the backbone of MSMEs and this bodes well for machine tool manufacturers. Indian machine tool industry has around 1000 units engaged in production of machine tools, accessories / attachments, subsystems and parts. More than 90% of these are in the MSME sector and this sector stands to benefit immensely from this budget. The ministry’s move will therefore eventually give an uptick to machine tool industry’s business.
Capital goods sector occupies a strategic position in the country’s economy as it provides the machinery and equipment needed for many industries engaged in manufacturing of goods and services. Conventionally the Indian capital goods sector has been dependent on imports. The reduction in customs duty on certain raw materials is expected to promote indigenous manufacturing. The government’s move towards imparting new age skills like artificial intelligence, internet of things, big data, 3D printing, virtual reality, and robotics as a part of the education curriculum can create a large pool of manpower with industry relevant skills. This will also create avenues for new jobs.
The increase in budget outlay for defence, infrastructure development including roads and railways, power, and affordable housing is expected to elevate the demand for construction equipments as well as machines. Machine tool industry needs to gear up to the opportunities that are likely to rise in future. Vibrant manufacturing is imperative for India’s growth. The incentives announced in the budget are but a beginning. It may take some time for the sops to trickle down to the end users resulting in demand for goods and services. Notwithstanding this the momentum given by the budget is expected to spur manufacturers to renew their activities with vigour. Once such manufacturing hits top gear the country will be on the right track to not just meet $3 trillion target this year but may join the exclusive $5 trillion economy in near future.”
-V. Anbu, Secretary, Director General & CEO

“The Union Budget 2019-20 comes with a strong assurance to boost education, agriculture and other social sectors and will serve to be an efficient medium of country’s development journey. The comprehensive 10-dimensional Vision for the Decade, in particular, is commendable and we are certain that it will play a crucial role in the nation’s pursuit of Global Developmental Goals.
As the implementing partner of the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme, the Government’s initiative to bring children closer to school, we look forward to the New National Education Policy that seeks to reform schools and higher education through better governance. In doing this, the policy will ensure that children are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to carve a better future for themselves and at the same time, contribute to the nation’s socioeconomic development.
We also welcome the move to converge the Jal Jeevan Mission with other Central and State Government Schemes to provide access to safe drinking water to all. This move will serve to boost various Government initiatives aimed at nutrition welfare and make a strong case for the convergence of welfare schemes to maximize their impact.
With respect to the role of women’s participation in our progress as a nation, we appreciate the Government’s introduction of various programmes to support and encourage women entrepreneurship.
As the implementing partner of the MDM programme, we are committed to supporting the various initiatives aimed at the well-being and development of children and will continue to extend our services by providing safe, hygienic, nutritious, and quality meals to our beneficiaries.”
-Chanchalapathi Dasa, Vice-Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation

“The Union Budget 2019 welcomes domestic economic growth, and taxation, through improvement in employment and other key benefits. Various measures were announced for financial markets with the intention to attract NRI and FPI (Foreign Portfolio Investors) investments in India. According to the Finance Minister, the Indian economy which was approx. $1.85 trillion in 2014, within 5 years, has witnessed a growth of $2.7 trillion, which has proved to be a great development for the country’s economy. Considering India achieves a $3 trillion economy in this year as discussed in the Union Budget 2019, the country will become the 5th largest in the world with regard to its purchasing parity.
With regard to taxation, the Finance Minister addressed the taxpayers their duty right on time. To resolve the angel tax issue, startups under the new union budget will not be subject to any scrutiny with respect to valuation. The funds raised by startups will not involve any scrutiny by the IT department giving the boom of new businesses and startups a considerable relief.

Rise of Entrepreneurship in India: The Finance Minister’s decision to boost women entrepreneurship in Women SHG Interest Subvention Programme to be expanded into all districts in India is phenomenal. For every verified woman SHG member having a Jan Dhan account, an overdraft of ₹5,000 shall be announced. One woman in every SHG will be made eligible for loans of up to ₹1 lakh under the Mudra scheme, a commendable effort by the government to encourage and facilitate women entrepreneurship. The Finance Minister also proposed forming a broad-based committee for gender analysis and addressed the significant contributions in every sector highlighting the recent election which saw a record turnout of women voters, at par with men, records 78 women MPs in the house.

The budget has also doubled income tax exemptions for those earning up to 500,000 rupees a year from the existing 250,000 rupees which will benefit 30 million lower earning taxpayers. To conclude, Union Budget 2019 is going to greatly impact the growth of women entrepreneurs and give an impetus to the startup industry aiding in the country’s development in the upcoming years. The simplification of GST which has included various businesses under the formal economy is aligned and will support the government’s vision for its economic growth.”
-Suresh Venugopal, CEO, AMC India

“The Government’s move to continue with the policy of phased reduction in Corporate Tax rates, is a welcome step. The widening of Annual Turnover from 250 Cr to 400 Cr will reduce the tax liabilities for a large number of companies and boost profits in the long term. We welcome the Government’s initiative to crack down on nefarious activities and unfair trade practices that have availed undue concessions and export incentives, in the past. The fully automated GST Refund Module and Multiple Tax Ledgers for a taxpayers, are few steps which will bring transparency in the retail sector. Additionally, the Government’s scheme of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, will help create a large pool of skilled manpower and avoid skilled Labour shortage in the future.”
- K John Baby, CEO, Funskool India Limited

“We congratulate Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman on her maiden budget speech in the Parliament today. The proposal to provide a deduction of Rs. 1.5 lakhs in addition to the existing Rs 2 lakhs for residential homes of up to Rs. 45 lakhs will be seen as a major boost to the real estate sector in the country. Though the income tax deduction proposal is for the current fiscal, we hope that the same is extended beyond this fiscal next year. The government’s focus to align the definition of affordable housing in the Income-tax Act with the GST Acts and the proposal to increase the limit of carpet area from 30 square meters to 60 square meters in metropolitan regions and from 60 square meters to 90 square meters in non-metropolitan regions is a welcome move for the homebuyers. Government’s concrete steps to address the NBFC crisis will encourage investments in the real estate sector and will in turn push the economy on a steady growth path.”
- T Chitty Babu, Chairman and CEO, Akshaya Pvt Ltd

‘The government has taken definitive steps to boost manufacturing by inviting global companies through a transparent competitive bidding to set up mega-manufacturing plants in the areas of sunrise and advanced technology areas such as computer servers, Laptops among others. Also, the move to provide income tax exemptions under the Income Tax Act, and other indirect tax benefits will largely benefit the companies who have plans to invest and manufacture in the country. The extended emphasis on providing robust infrastructure, job creation and digital economy will go a long way in channelling the growth for manufacturing in the country. The impetus to solidify ‘Make in India’ is a positive step and will provide the domestic industry a level playing field and bring them at par with the global manufacturers in the next few years.”
- Suresh Balaji, Country Manager, ALOGIC.

“We are happy to be contributing towards the growth of the country. This 25% increased revenue to the exchequer will boost the economy. We also request the government to take strict and adequate measures to curb smuggling of gold, which puts the arbitrage in the hands of the anti- social and law breaking individuals.”

- Amarendran Vummidi, Managing Partner, Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers

"We would like to congratulate India's first female Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, for presenting an admirable budget. The Union Budget is a step in the right direction and strengthening the ICT infrastructure and the digital penetration in rural geographies. The Finance Minister has introduced the PPP model for BharatNet and has set up a committee to rationalize tax structure, review USOF, and the spectrum usage charges. This will considerably improve the industry dynamics as revenues continue to fade in the market. The Honourable Minister has further proposed several schemes to build skills, infrastructure, and conduct R&D around cutting-edge technologies including Artificial Intelligence and Big Data, which is another key takeaway."
- Rahul Sharma, Managing Director-India, LogMeIn

“At budget time, hope always takes the better of wisdom and for start-ups who live largely on hope, it was one more opportunity to wish. Unlike most other budgets, this time however there is some reason to hope.
Early stage funding is a critical requirement of start-ups. Angel tax has been a pain point for both investors and start-ups alike. In simple words, it gave the authority to the tax department to question the share premium paid by investors and potentially tax the amount which was above the fair market value as other income at a marginal rate of tax of 25%. With the new provisions, it seems that as long as investors declare their investment and the start-ups also file this in their returns, they will not be subject to scrutiny for the computation of share premium. While details are awaited, this would mean any start-up registered with Startup India and has filed necessary documents will be exempt from angel tax.
Start-up investors globally get exemptions from their investments. This trend is being strengthened by the relaxation/ extension of this scheme whereby investors are allowed to re-invest their capital gains into start-ups and claim exemption of these amounts from tax. It may be noted however that gains from such start-up investments will be however subject to tax. This is a great step and hope it is followed by other measures in future to bring India at par with the rest of the world.
Other measures such as increasing the corpus size for the fund of funds, free payment gateway from MSMEs, setting up on agri-incubators and the tax exemption and subsidy on electric vehicles are also welcome moves.
All in all, there is nothing negative for start-ups and their investors in this budget. Reason to hope continues.”
-Lead Angels - Sushanto Mitra

"We welcome the first Union Budget by the Modi 2.0 Government. This budget sets the pace for India to become a 5trillion economy which is visible through policies and initiatives for the development of infrastructure and msme sector. There are several outreach programmes for growth, expansion and facilitation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Overall an encouraging budget."
-Vinod Kumar Gupta, Managing Director, Dollar Industries Ltd.

“Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA), an apex body representing Consumer Electronics, Home Appliances and Mobile Industry, welcomed the amendments made by the Government in the custom duty structure for a number of items – components as well as finished goods - that will encourage domestic manufacture of multiple segments of the Appliance and Consumer Electronics market.
Import of Split Air Conditioners (Indoor and Outdoor units) will each attract Customs Duty of 20%. While Outdoor units has by and large been indigenised, indoor units has yet to achieve the same degree of localisation, which will now be boosted. Imposition of Customs Duty on a number of emerging and high growth product categories such as CCTV and IPTV cameras and DVR/NVR which are largely imported will attract interest from domestic manufacturers as the import duty imposed (20%) gives them a level of protection. Loudspeakers made in India and under threat from imports will get a protection with import duty going up by 5% to 15%). Waiver of duty on capital goods for manufacture of chargers, adaptors, camera modules (for cellular mobile phones) and machinery to make Open Cells (for television sets) and Populated Printed Circuit Boards used widely in the industry, will encourage suppliers to set up manufacturing in India.
CEAMA has been making efforts to improve the domestic manufacturing eco-system of appliances and consumer electronics and a number of the announcements were recommended by CEAMA.

“CEAMA is committed to promote indigenous manufacturing of appliances and consumer electronics in the country and the announcements in this budget shall provide the necessary boost to the Government’s initiative of ‘Make in India’. That said, we were hopeful of concrete measures that would accelerate demand. CEAMA will continue to work closely with government to formulate more policies to develop the appliance and consumer electronics industry in India.”

Governments continued attention towards skilling especially new age skill sets such as AI, Robotics will help improve the quality and quantity of skilled labour - critical to industrial growth. Rural electrification which aims to touch every household by March 2022 coupled with infrastructural push via Gram Sadak Yojana and the rural support schemes will serve as a catalyst in improving the demand for consumer electronics and appliances. Category penetration levels should therefore improve faster.

Electronics hardware production in the country increased from Rs 1.90 trillion (US$ 31.13 billion) in FY14 to Rs 3.88 trillion (US$ 60.13 billion) in FY18. Demand for electronics hardware in India is expected to reach US$ 400 billion by FY24. The above initiatives will surely serve as a major growth drivers in expansion of the segment.”
- Kamal Nandi, President, CEAMA and Business Head & EVP, Godrej Appliances

“The Budget lays down a vision for the next five years while staying rightly focussed on completion of the already initiated policy changes. It also signals the government’s commitment towards fiscal consolidation. The steps to shore up the financial sector via PSU bank recapitalisation, partial credit support to financially sound NBFCs and change in regulator for HFCs are key positives, in my view. The measures to serve the interest of various sectors - MSMEs, affordable housing and underprivileged segments like retail traders - are much needed and welcome. The announcements like further liberalisation of the foreign investment regime, issuance of sovereign Dollar bonds, deepening of long-term bond markets, rationalisation of labour laws, focus on infrastructure investment are steps in the right direction. On balance, the Budget would help boost the medium-term growth potential of the economy.”
- Zarin Daruwala, CEO, India, Standard Chartered Bank

“NDA 2.0 has presented a budget that places India on a virtuous cycle of long term growth aiming to achieve the $5 trillion economy. Government measures to address liquidity issues in the financial sector would help boost credit growth, are timely and will spur economic activity.
It is heartening to see the finance minister focusing on providing depth to the bond market and the move to allow FIIs and FPIs to invest in debt securities will provide the much needed impetus to make available long term finance for infrastructure development. The marginal income tax level is now hitting historical highs, since last three decades which may militate against wealth creation.
Plans to enhance foreign direct investment in aviation, insurance and media, allowing social enterprises to list on stock exchange are some of the interesting announcements. Now it’s to be seen how these and other policy announcements are rolled out on ground.”
- Ashok P. Hinduja, Chairman, Hinduja Group of Companies (India)

“We are looking at this budget positively as the multiple reforms introduced clearly indicates that the Government is looking at laying the ground to fuel up the growth across sectors through relief offered to the consumers across sectors. Budget 2019 lays the foundation for a strong path towards India becoming a USD 5 trillion economy. The inter changeability of Aadhar and PAN card will help consumers tremendously when it comes to purchasing luxury items like jewellery.
With an investment of Rs.100 lakh crore proposed for infrastructure, we are expecting a bright future for the infra sector which in turn will benefit us as consumers will have more disposable income and the gems and jewellery industry presents itself as a lucrative investment option with profitable returns. Also, the assurance in the Budget to merge NRI and FPI (foreign portfolio investor) routes for investing in India to increase NRI funding will bring in fresh flow of capital in the economy which is a sign of good days to come.
However, the increase in customs duty on import of gold from 10% to 12.5% may affect short term sentiments on gold buying, and lead to an increase in the illegal supply of gold in the market. Overall, the reforms in the budget are mostly aligned towards strengthening Government's schemes like Make in India, Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, Digital India and ease of doing business in the country”
- T S Kalyanaraman, Chairman and Managing Director, Kalyan Jewellers

‘We would appreciate development centric forward looking budget, which will impact every household of the country and industry will witness new horizon of development. The maiden Budget has laid special emphasis on the much awaited infrastructural development where the Government will invest Rs 100 Lakh crores in this segment for the next five years. The power sector has seen phenomenal growth achieving the electrification of almost 96% of households in the last 5 years. This large growth in the sector can be attributed to the infrastructure boom in India creating more avenues for companies like ours. Investments in railways, housing and farm are paramount to overall infra-growth for our company. The Government is also planning to invest 50 Lakh crores for Railways which will further boost the demand resulting in expansion of our business. Furthermore, the Government has shed light on the plan of One nation, One Grid & the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna will be a standalone element in ensuring power connectivity at affordable rates.’
- Anil Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, KEI Industries Ltd

“The Union Budget 2020 brings good news for the NBFC and Housing finance sector. The slew of measures announced by the Finance Minister for both NBFCs and HFCs, including the relaxation in the FPI guidelines and Government’s guarantee provision to PSU banks for purchase of high rated pooled assets of financially sound NBFCs will go a long way in supporting credit flow and increasing the liquidity in the system. The return of regulatory and supervisory powers of HFCs to the RBI will lead to alignment of regulations. The capital support and creation of a payment platform for the MSMEs will lead to more job creation and income to households as well as increase in productive capacity and consumption. The government has been consistent with its efforts in affordable housing segment and an additional deduction of interest on loans will drive sales and give further impetus to the affordable housing sector. With focus on digital economy, education, infrastructure and financial sector, the Government has set the ball rolling for the ‘New India’ to become a $3 trillion economy by this financial year.”
- Rakesh Singh, CEO – Aditya Birla Finance Ltd

"There is an imminent focus on ‘Housing for All, especially as the Government pursues a broad-based development across the rural and urban India. The decision to allow tax reduction on an additional Rs. 150,000 on interest on housing loans, shall boost the sector. The proposal to amend the tenancy law shall be instrumental in boosting rental models and attract more investors. Along with these, the Government’s proposal to promote sustainable urban development through transport systems such as metro-rail networks, shall provide long-term boost for the housing sector."
- Arun M N, Founder & Managing Director, CASAGRAND Builders

“The government continues to tread on its stated path. The increase in the limit on interest deduction on affordable housing should give a boost to that sector.”
-Nakul Himatsingka, Managing Director, Ideal Group

“The Union Budget 2019-20 has laid major impetus on reforming the economy. A pro-development budget focusing on youth empowerment and infrastructure development, the Modi 2.0 Government's announcement of increasing the limit on interest deduction on affordable housing, is surely going to promote the affordable housing segment.”
- Abhishek Bhardwaj, Chief Marketing Officer, Shristi Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.

“The Union Budget 2019-20 is a progressive budget. It lays the foundation for growth and equality. The budget clearly shows the way forward for a transparent economy.”
- B L Mittal, Founder and Executive Chairman, Sastasundar.com

“The budget for FY 20 continued to build on the work of the past five years. The focus clearly was on simplifying procedures in tax administration (making Aadhar and PAN inter-operable), streamlining existing labour laws by re-grouping them under 4 codes and attracting capital by permitting FPIs to invest in listed REITs, FPIS/ FIIs to invest in debt issued by IDFs and easing KYC norms for FPIs.
Key highlights include a growth stimulus planned through PSU bank recap of Rs.70,000 cr. NBFC sector can now down-sell loans upto INR 1 trillion to banks under a backstop from the Govt to cover first loss upto 10%.
In a bold step, the budget also announced the plan to issued Sovereign GOI bonds overseas given the lower cost of capital and given that India’s sovereign external debt to GDP is less than 5%.
Fiscal deficit for FY 20 has been marginally lowered to 3.3 % (from 3.4% in the interim budget) through higher divestments at INR 105,000 cr (INR 80,000 cr last year). Marginal increases to direct taxes (raising surcharges in higher brackets) and some excise and customs is forecast to help lower the deficit.
The combination of further focusing on ease of doing business, raising revenues and fiscal discipline combined with targeted spending such as bank recap should in our view lay the ground for a gradual turn-around in the economic momentum and growth recovery.
Given the subdued inflation trajectory, the budget’s decision to stick to 3.3 % on fiscal deficit and improving liquidity in our view has made duration curve attractive. Given the proposed fiscal discipline, we could expect further easing from RBI, which renders our view positive in the near to medium term.”
-Kumaresh Ramakrishnan, Head-Fixed Income DHFL Pramerica MF

“The first Union Budget announced under the re-elected government was inclined and focused towards affordable housing. Additional exemption in income tax on home loans under affordable housing by 1.5 lakhs for homes upto 45 lakhs is a good step by the Government. This will encourage more and more fence sitters and first-time home buyers to take quick decisions regarding property purchase. It’s a welcome move and we are hopeful that the customers and investors will show interest in the affordable housing sector. This move is expected to result in some momentum in the beleaguered real estate sector.”
-Gaurav Gupta, Director Omkar Realtors & Developers

“The Budget announcement today is good with a major boost for Affordable Housing, Rental Housing and Infrastructure development which shall be beneficial for the buyers, investors, people looking for staying on rent and the developers of Affordable Housing.
There is good News with the proposal of Tax Holiday for developers of Affordable Housing and additional deduction of up to Rs. 1.5 lacs for interest on home loans borrowed up to 31.3.2020. That takes the total deduction to upto Rs 3.5 lacs. Rental Laws shall be reformed and modern tenancy law shall be shared with states to promote rental housing which shall streamline and boost the unorganized rental market.
Major emphasis has been laid on Infrastructure development with the proposal of 100 lakh crore investment for infrastructure in the next five years. These investments include Housing, Farm and Railways infrastructure. There is a proposition to construct 1.95 crore Houses under PMAY ( Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna) and Rs 80,250 crore for upgradation of roads under PM Gram sadak yojna. There is a proposal to follow PPP model (Public private partnership) model for the development of Railways, this move shall culminate in spreading the Railway network to remote areas making them accessible and resulting in the development of Infrastructure and Real estate in these areas. The proposal to boost water and road transport shall pit the Rural urban divide due to improved connectivity.
Considering the above major points in particular for the Real estate and Infrastructure, the Budget announcement seems to be good for the growth and development of the same and for the Economy of the nation.”
-Parveen Jain, Vice Chairman NAREDCO & CMD Tulip Infratech

“it’s a welcome move that the Government has reduced GST on electric vehicle from 12% to 5% & also allocated Rs 10,000 crore for faster adoption of electric vehicles and has announced upfront incentives for electric vehicles.This will help attract investment for manufacturer and ensure clean energy over the time. This decision will represent the next generation in sustainable mobility & make them an attractive alternative to consumers.To give more boost to E-vehicle sector. We propose a more cautious, clear and realistic road map towards the adoption of EVs & hoping more positive step will be taken by government to cheer up the overall industry and consumer both.”
- Ayush Lohia CEO Lohia auto Industries

"Start-ups are a barometer of the positive energy and hope in an economy. The various measures announced in today's budget seek to nurture this spirit in various ways - from angel tax assurances to easier funding for a self-help group in a village. From faster loans for a MSME to helping an artisan with patents and GI registration. Start-ups create not just jobs and shareholder value, they also build the foundation for the next wave of entrepreneurship."
-Kunal Bahl, CEO & Co-founder, Snapdeal

“I would congratulate the Finance Minister on the Union Budget 2019. For a country like India, where we are trying to address multiple sensitive factors viz. jobs, taxation, corporate, rural, growth, spends, inflation, fiscal, etc., it’s always a very complex balancing act.
Making it easier for investors to operate FPIs is extremely important for us right now. Especially with the current scene in the bond market and the pressure on our fiscal deficit. We have bonds close to INR 5 trillion expected to mature in this FY20, out of which a large chunk is for the non-banking lenders. Hence the move to make FPIs simpler is a welcome move. The move on Angel Tax and reduced unnecessary scrutiny will be welcomed by younger startups that are raising angel money. Although there’s still a lot more to be done on this front, it’s a start.
Digital Push via a move like eliminating or reducing MDR for cashless payments further is a great sign. This decision has more positive implications than what’s immediately obvious. While it will make transactions more convenient, encourage payment Fintechs to innovate around this space and reduce cash pilferage, it also has a 2nd order positive effect of increasing the digital handshake between a consumer and the BFSI sector. Meaning that technologies like Blockchain and API based financial solutions get a solid, data-rich platform with all the digital transactions.
I’m optimistic about this Budget, and at MoneyTap, we’ll continue to help address the credit gap in our country in a responsible way.”
-Kunal Varma, Co-founder & Head of Products, MoneyTap

‘’The government’s continued push to improve the quality of higher education in India is extremely commendable. The allocation of INR 400 crore to create a world-class higher education ecosystem in the country will definitely improve the quality of talent that joins the workforce. The focus on the amplification of skills in new-age tech domains such as AI, IoT, Big Data, and Robotics will also help to address the severe skills shortage that businesses across India are facing at present, apart from opening newer avenues of career growth for Indian professionals. The government should also make stronger efforts to incorporate data literacy training at the grassroots level and incentivise organisations to launch data literacy training initiatives for their employees. Doing so will equip current and future Indian professionals with the required knowledge and competencies to navigate the data-driven world of tomorrow.”
- Pankaj Muthe, Program Manager, Academic Program, APAC, Qlik

"The Union Budget has made adequate allocations for the telecom sector whose revenues have been tumbling since quite a while now. The Government has set up a committee to rationalize tax structure, review USOF, and the spectrum usage charges, which will make the business environment more conducive within the sector. These measures will work in the favour of unified communications providers like us. It has also taken targeted steps towards rural infrastructure expansion and introduced PPP model for BharatNet to eliminate the prevailing rural digital divide. We believe that companies such as Telebu will benefit immensely from this year's Union Budget, as it will expedite their goals of proliferating into rural as well as tier-2 and tier-3 cities."
- Satya Kalyan Yerramsetti, Founder & CEO of Telebu

“The demand for specialised skillsets in niche technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning has increased drastically. The government has recognized and addressed this schism by pledging to train 10 million youth in industry relevant skills like AI, IoT and Big Data. We, at Haptik are also constantly empowering the developers and enthusiastic engineers to build next-generation conversational AI on a daily basis. We are delighted to see that our government is also putting efforts to improve the skills of our youth in newer areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Robotics.”
- Aakrit Vaish, Co-founder and CEO, Haptik

“Two significant initiatives, National Education Policy and the Union Budget, coinciding this year is a huge opportunity for the education sector. As a research-driven EdTech company, we welcome the government’s proposal of setting up National Research Foundation to improve the quality of research across all levels of private and public educational institutes. I believe it can be a game changer. However, there is a need for a higher focus on K 12 education. Unless we fix core issues in learning levels of school children - such as building foundational skills, tracking impact, board exam revamp, teacher training, etc. - initiatives at the higher education level will not yield desired results.”
-Srini Raghavan, Founder and CEO, EI

“The Union Budget 2019-20 is very promising, especially for the agriculture sector. The incubation of the zero budget farming that involves zero credit for agriculture and no use of chemical fertilizers is a welcome move by the government of India. The government’s stance of setting up of 10,000 farm producer organisation by 2022 that will ensure economies of scale for farmers regarding access to inputs and markets will truly enhance the agriculture sector. Additionally, 80 livelihood business incubators and 20 technology business incubators will be set up to produce 75,000 skilled entrepreneurs in agro-rural industries will be a boost for a lot of budding entrepreneurs in the agri space. The governments focus on promoting entrepreneurship is quite evident. The announcement of an exclusive television channel for start-ups that creates a platform for discussing issues affecting the growth and match-making with venture capitalists is a move that is widely applauded by the start-up industry. Clearing the air around the Angel tax issue has been a relief for the startup community. Start-ups not being scrutinized by the IT department regarding the funds raised is a huge revolution for the start-up ecosystem as this would reduce the burden on the budding entrepreneurs. From a business standpoint, 25% corporate tax which is now stretched to companies with turnover of 400 crore is going to really boost the MSMEs and help them grow and survive in the competitive market.”
– Siddharth Khinvasara , Co-Founder EarthFood

“The Budget 2019 announced by Hon’ble Finance Minister today is extremely positive for the Electric Vehicle sector, and re-affirms the Indian Government’s commitment to rapid electrification of India’s automobile sector.
FM has announced approval and adoption of FAME II; Government’s detailed policy to incentivize and support accelerated adoption of EVs; with an outlay of whopping Rs. 10,000 crores for next 3 years. This removes all ambiguity surrounding the long term EV Policy and I am confident that this move will encourage manufacturers to enhance investments in this sector and customers to purchase move EVs.
Reduction of GST on EVs from already concessional 12% to 5% will make them more attractive when compared to engine vehicles that attract 28% GST. Further, the proposed increase of Rs 1 in price of diesel and petrol, will enhance the attractiveness of lower running cost of EVs. The tax deduction for loans taken by customers to purchase EV will also help in creating demand from consumers.
Further, announcements such as proposed tax breaks on Mega investments for lithium battery and cell manufacturing will pave way for a “Make in India” focus across entire supply chain of EV manufacturing in India.

All in all, Government has taken several steps in the right direction for a rapid increase in investments in EV by the industry and adoption of EVs by the consumers. We welcome this budget and appreciate Government’s commitment to lower pollution in our cities and move towards fuel security of our nation!”
-Sulajja Firodia Motwani, Founder and CEO of Kinetic Green and Vice Chairperson, Kinetic Group

“Welcome the move of the Government to reduce corporate tax by 5% for companies having turn over upto 400cr was a long pending reform and I am sure this will create extra space for mid size companies to invest more into research, development & capacity creation. Besides, the focus area of E-vehicles will also help auto sector to transform rapidly and create a level playing field for new innovation in mobility.
In the budget, Government has shown it’s intent on two another key areas that is strengthening rural roads & national highways which is a step worth applauding as it will lead to the better conditions and better network of roads significanty reduce the fatal accidents, reduce the health care burden and improve the overall connectivity.”
-Rajeev Kapur, MD, Steelbird Helmets & President, Two Wheeler Helmet Manufacturers Association

“We hail the intent in this budget of a New India that aims to make the country as one of the leading higher education destination in the world. The focus on a new national policy, efforts to increase government funding, emphasis on research, skilling & digital technologies are the levers that will surely help drive India’s growth as one of the leading economies in future. We look forward to achieve the collective digital dream.”
- Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Vice-Chancellor, World University of Design

“Allocation of Rs 400 crore for world-class higher education, 'Study in India', new national education policy, thrust towards R&D, skilling and new –age technologies are all steps in the right direction that will help, the government, industry and academia in establishing India as the next educational hub. Additionally, the emphasis on quality education, improving the overall infrastructure will help the country become future-ready with a deeper focus on research and new age skills such as robotics and AI.”
- Prashant Gupta, Executive Director, Sharda University

“The budget announcements are aimed at transforming India to usher in US$ 5 trillion economy and make the country the best place for Ease of Living and Ease of Business. The budget addresses some of the basic challenges faced by manufacturing as well as exports including flow of credit, infrastructure bottlenecks, labour laws, skilling, etc.
The export credit declined by 22% as on 31st December, 2018 compared to the same period in 2017. Rs.70,000 crore allocated to PSU banks will ease the flow of credit. The interest subvention of 2% given to MSME as well as payment platform for bill filing for MSME will help in flow of credit at competitive cost. The investment of Rs.100 lakh crore in infrastructure in next 5 years through Bharatmala, Sagarmala, Jal Marg Vikas Project will help in improving logistics, reducing transportation cost and increasing competitiveness. The PMMSY for the robust fisheries management framework will give a push to marine exports from the country in which India has emerged as the largest exporter though huge untapped potential still exists. The support given to GI products and artisans to showcase in global markets will provide much needed exposure to them paving the way for further exports. Focus on clusters in Bamboo, Honey and Khadi will not only create huge employment opportunity but will also give a push to their exports. The identification of 17 iconic tourism sites will give a push to tourism exports in the country.
The emphasis on digitalization and faceless assessment will go a long way in ensuring objectivity, transparency and speed.
Government may look into extending reduction in Corporate Tax to all companies irrespective of turnover so as to attract overseas investment waiting on the fringes both in US and China though enjoying much lower Corporate Tax in their respective countries.”
- Sharad Kumar Saraf, President, FIEO

“The budget is on expected lines with a focus on reviving the economy. Efforts have been made to encourage NRIs to invest in India with steps taken to merge NRI portfolio route with FPI route and easing KYC norms for NRIs. Also, the budget is favorable for start-ups with exemptions on Angel tax and no scrutiny of funds from income tax department. Another positive is promotion of digital economy and making digital transactions free for customers. That is the right step in boosting the digital economy. We also welcome the idea of the social stock exchange however, a bit disappointed that something with the impact potential of P2P was missed in the budget. Steps taken to promote P2P in any way would help the sector which has been driving financial inclusion and creating an alternate investment asset class.”
- Abhishek Gandhi, Co-Founder & CFO, RupeeCircle
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"I along with many startups had urged FM to simplify the angel tax issue. And here comes the move which we all would like. Provision of e-verification of such investment and declaration from startup/angel is good enough to stay away from angel tax scrutiny."
-Bhavin Patel, Co-Founder & CEO, LenDenClub
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“The budget is set the strong tone for incentivising digital paynents. Inplementarion of low cost payment modes for business more than 50 cr turnover will definitely drive QR and low cost options across organized retail and larger enterprises. However announcement of no MDR for customers and merchants would require clarity with respect to which instrument as well as mode.”
- Dewang Neralla, CEO, Atom Technologies
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"We are glad to note that at the very outset there were specific references to boosting Digital India and Startups in the 10 point vision of Hon'ble Finance Minister. The multiple initiatives announced for improving transport, in terms of road corridor, port connectivity and UDAN scheme will boost domestic trade. The MSME centric steps are also very encouraging in terms of allocation of more resources for loans and the creation of a platform for filings bills. All this will go a long way in helping small businesses.
The increase of the turnover limit for the lesser corporate tax bracket is a measure which will massively benefit the industry. In terms of startups, the angel tax related steps and clarifications are welcome, along with the steps to reduce tax scrutiny. We are very enthused to note that the Hon'ble Minister emphasised on the need for a cash free economy. Initial steps have been initiated for encouraging digital payments. However, the thresholds mentioned are quite high. This is a good start and we are certain to expect more incentives later on. Innovation is the backbone of the startup sector and for boosting industry in general. We are also very glad to note the boost being given to centers of higher learning to encourage research. Overall we think this was a well balanced budget which has balanced the aspirations of both urban and rural India."
- Abhishek Ray, Head - Legal and Compliance, ePayLater

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“The Union Budget announcement on scaling up the Indian economy from USD 2.7 trillion to USD 3 trillion in FY20 and further targeting USD 5 trillion by 2024-25 is a strong roadmap for economic growth which will boost business activities in country. Our customers i.e MSMEs are facing a consumption economy. With the encouraging measures for boosting GDP driven by consumptions and investments, it ushers in positivity for our line of business. Overall Govt. measures announced for road, port connectivity, foreign flows into debt instruments, construction of 9.5 Crore houses in next 3 years and other tax measures will boost the Indian economy. Moreover, the Govt. has acknowledged NBFCs as a major contributor to GDP growth with adequate measures for supporting their liquidity requirements, lowered tax rates and Guarantee facilities for raising competitive funds.”
- Piyush Khaitan, Founder & MD, NeoGrowth

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“The logistics sectors plays a very crucial role in propelling India to become a trillion dollar economy. With some key measures like Ease of Doing Business, simplification of e-way bills, UDAN, Bharatmala, Jal Marg Vikas etc., it will only improve the overall logistics sector and also reduce the cost of transportation. The budget also specifically mentioned on the Government’s vision to focus on rivers for cargo transportation which help in increasing the freight movement whilst making it cost effective. The proposals made in the budget look very conducive to improve the sector’s competencies. The budget announcement has made special emphasis on the ‘Ease of Living’ thus making it very citizen friendly. The only thing now is execution which remains key and be watched for.”
- Abhishek Chakraborty, Executive Director, DTDC Express Ltd

“Surprisingly in the budget there was no mention of any benefits and plans for healthcare! However certain positives are the proposals to set up the National Research Centre and Annual Global Investors Meet, both the initiatives that will help give an impetus and attract research proposals and funding to India's potential. Easing of Angel tax and relief from IT scrutiny for start-ups are great encouragement for the sector.
While announcing large scale projects for electric cars, the government has completely ignored the bio-medical sector which has the potential to be a global research hub for fields like genetic research, bio-informatics and AI in healthcare.”
-Swati Deshpande, Director (Operations), Datar Cancer Genetics Limited

“A) Enhanced focus on affordable housing to achieve ‘Housing for All’ Mission
Union Budget 2019 has been presented on expected lines. With sustained focus on affordable housing, government has emphasised on increasing the demand. In the past, the government has already awarded the infrastructure status to the affordable housing segment, increased the carpet area and re-defined income definitions to boost supply in the market. Government has already extended the 100% tax holiday under section 80-IBA of the Income Tax Act, 1961 to 31 March 2020.

With an objective to help buyers in the affordable and mid-housing segments, an additional exemption of Rs 1.5 lakh on interest paid on housing loan, over and above the existing Rs 2 lakh, has been provided for properties up to Rs 45 lakh. Considering that a majority of homebuyers fall in the lower and mid-income segments, this tax benefit will boost demand substantially. This will significantly benefit first time home buyers who will enjoy the benefits of interest subvention under the CLSS scheme and the announced tax benefits. With effective i nterest coming down, it will increase the eligibility for the mid-income housing segments.

In a bid to improve supply, Budget 2019 has proposed to open up land parcels of government and PSUs to be utilised for affordable housing and public infrastructure.

B) Rental housing market to get a fresh lease of life
Budget 2019 has proposed to bring in a Model Tenancy Law. This will be finalised and circulated to the states. Archaic rental laws in the country so far have proved disadvantageous for both, tenants and landlords. The new rental act will bring the required institutional framework in the country and make it more organised and fair for landlords and tenants.
c) Stricter lending governance and disclosure norms
Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) play a crucial role in supporting the real estate sector. Unification of the regulatory body and to place both NBFCs and HFCs under the aegis of RBI will lead to better regulation of HFCs and improve transparency in the system.

D) NBFC liquidity issue addressed
Budget has proposed a one-time provision for six month period to offer partial credit guarantee to public sector banks to buy high rated pooled assets worth Rs 1 lakh crore from NBFCs. This will provide the much needed liquidity to the NBFCs. They can thus liquidate their portfolio and meet their liabilities in a timely manner. Additionally, it will induce an atmosphere of confidence.
E) Easing of local sourcing norms in single brand retail
Relaxation in the existing norm of 30% local sourcing for single brand retail has been one of the key demands from foreign investors keen on putting money in single brand retail in the country. Budget 2019 has proposed to ease this norm. This would make the segment more attractive for foreign players and investors.
F) REIT in India gets another support
Budget has allowed foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to subscribe to listed debt papers of REITs and InviTs. This will broaden the investment options for foreign investors and henceforth, spur higher flow of funds. FPI investments in REITs through debt papers will enable REIT players to increase the asset portfolio and make REIT investments more attractive.
G) Emphasis on transit oriented development (TOD)
Budget has emphasised on the development of TOD zones and their importance on the overall urban development. The TOD provision will lead to growth of commercial and industrial units along the new and existing corridors across the country.”
-Ramesh Nair, CEO & Country Head, JLL India

“Except for the announcement of setting up 10,000 new-farmer producer organisations, there was no major boost to the agriculture sector in the budget 2019-20. However, I must say that a slew of measures, including MSP hiking of around 17 crops and farmers pension, have already been taken for the development of farmers as well as farm sector days ahead of the budget. In totality, this year’s budget is significant as it has also announced to create 100 startup incubators, 80 livelihood and 20 tech incubators, to provide incubation support to 80,000 startups including agri startups for the progress and development of our country."
-Dr M J Khan, Chairman, Indian Council of Food and Agriculture

“The Government has introduced a host of powerful reforms that shall transform India’s education landscape. The highlight of course, has been the focus to reverse brain-drain and invest in attracting the best minds across the globe through the ‘Study in India’ initiative. There has been a considerable focus on the need for impactful research; the proposal to create a National Research Foundation (NRF), that shall assimilate research grants by the Government, as well as focus on building a credible body of research in STEM-based fields and those that are of strategic importance for the country, is a step in the right direction. At the same time, the Finance Minister has been pragmatic on the issue of skills development. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) shall encourage the youth to take up skills-based training in the near future and also prepare them to exploit the global job markets, through focus on teaching foreign languages, AI, ML, Big Data, 3D printing and robotics.”
-D A Prasanna, Founding Chancellor, The National Institute of Engineering (NIE) University, Mysore

“Very encouraging budget for SME/MSE sector. With government’s initiative ,farm output has increased which leads to promotion of Agri processing industry. We have planned to invest in developing value added healthy agro based products. Another big policy put forth by the finance minister on 'One nation One grid' for easy power availability at one price across states is also very stimulating for the industry."
-Vikram Agarwal, MD, Greendot Health Foods Pvt Ltd (Cornitos)

“The Union budget has recognized the importance of technology in the growth of the country by announcing training of 10 million youth in industry-relevant skills such as AI, IoT, and Big Data. While the move will enable India address the skill-shortage, it will also allow the current talent pool to be future-ready. The allocation of funds to build world-class higher education institutes is a big foot forward in strengthening the roots of Indian education system. The decision of establishing National Research Foundation will reinvigorate research that is critical to building indigenous products and solutions. We are confident that with a renewed focus on quality education and technology being the pivot, the Indian education sector will be benefited in years to come.”
-Vikas Singh, Managing Director, Pearson India

“Govt's mission of bringing an Electric Vehicle (EV) revolution to India is truly path-breaking and will surely provide the much-needed impetus to the industry. In line with its road map for EVs in the next four years, the budget offers upfront incentives on the purchase of EVs. The move goes hand in hand with other measures to promote the sector, such as proposed reduction in the goods and services tax (GST) rate for EVs to 5 per cent from 12 per cent and batteries from 18 per cent to 12 per cent. We welcome the Government’s vision to protect the environment and lead energy revolution with EVs in the coming years.”
-Paritosh Dey, Co-Founder & CEO, Benling India Energy and Technology Pvt Ltd.

“This budget is in line with many big reforms that we saw in the last five years including RERA, in indirect taxation, bankruptcy etc. The special emphasis that has been given for the affordable housing segment is good news for customers and it is aligned with the government’s National Mission of “Housing for All by 2022” Mission.
Additional Rs.1.5 lakh interest deduction for purchase of residential house having value upto Rs. 45 lakh, in addition to the existing interest deduction Rs. 2 lakh is a welcome step. Redefining the affordable segment and increasing the limit of carpet area in 60 square meters in Metropolitan regions and 90 square meters in non-metropolitan regions is good step for the sector.”
- Mayur Shah, Managing Director Marathon group & Former Chairman MCHI CREDAI

“The standout announcement in Union Budget 2019, for the real estate sector, was the additional deduction of Rs 1.5 lakhs for those seeking home loans for affordable housing projects, which will be allowed till March 31, 2020. The FM mentioned that this takes the deduction up to Rs 3.5 lakhs cumulatively and translates into a gain of Rs 7 lakhs, during a 15-year loan repayment tenure. This boost on the demand side was clearly needed considering that many home buyers have turned fence-sitters, awaiting such tax sops or correction in prices. On the supply side, over 81 lakh houses have been sanctioned, out of which construction has been completed for 26 lakh houses under the PMAY Urban scheme and this too, shall continue to boost the market for affordable homes.
While it may seem like that there haven’t been any direct announcements to benefit the sector, the real story lies in the fine print. All the initiatives spoken of, to improve road, suburban railways and Metro connectivity; create a robust water management system; work on the Ease of Living; invest Rs 100 lakh crores in infrastructure over the next 5 years, will create more liveable cities and encourage people to invest in projects, even in peripheral areas and not overcrowd the CBDs and SBDs. On the regulatory side, we see the move to hand over regulation of housing finance companies to RBI, as a positive one. Reduction in NPAs of commercial banks by over Rs 1 lakh crores over the last year, is an encouraging sign for the sector that has been hit hard by the funding crisis. Another major area that has been addressed is Rental Housing – we look forward to the Model Tenancy Law that has been promised, to do away with the current archaic laws. The government’s clear focus on continuing to attract global investors into various sectors bodes well for the economy at large.
We are also very enthused about the government’s vision to train 10 million youth to take up industry oriented training and acquire various skillsets in AI, big data, VR, 3-D printing, etc. For a sector that has been grappling with the lack of a trained workforce, the importance of a skilled, employable workforce, can’t be emphasised enough.”
-Dhruv Agarwala- Group CEO- Housing.com, PropTiger.com, Makaan.com and Fastfox.com

"This budget is guided by the mission to strengthen the Education Sector especially the establishment of the ‘National Research Foundation’-which will definitely help in creating the right ecosystem for R&D in the country. And it was great to see the government finally taking notice of industry-relevant skills like AI, IoT, Big Data and reforms in the higher education sector. A humble yet notable announcement was the ‘Study in India’ Programme, which holds the potential to put India on the world map. However, we still need a series of fundamental structural reforms - which I hope will be addressed in the near future."
- Amol Arora, MD - Shemrock & Shemford Group of Schools

“The Union Budget 2019 has proposed significant changes which have the capability to revitalise the education sector. Apart from focusing on improving research and higher education via the National Research Foundation, it has promoted play-based early childhood education and high-quality teacher training via the new National Education Policy. The government has also proposed to increase efforts in skills development of our youth by incorporating new technologies in education such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, and new learning strategies such as virtual realities and robotics. Furthermore, in an admirable move, the National Sports Education Board for the development of skilled sportsmen is to be set up under “Khelo India” project, so as to promote enthusiasm in sports as an important part of the development of today’s learners.”
- Beas DevRalhan, Co-founder and CEO, Next Education India Pvt. Ltd

“The budget presented by our Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitaraman is not only a landmark budget considering the fact that there is something for everyone but is targeted towards the development of our country. With respect to real estate, we are happy that the government plans to invest Rs. 100 lac crore in the next five years along with the fast-paced infrastructure development. This should certainly help in reviving the real estate sector, which had been going through a dark phase for the past few years.”
-Yashpal Agnihotri, Managing Director of Amila Group

“Focus on Affordable Housing: Much on the expected lines, the government has announced to continue with its thrust for Affordable Housing. The Government aims to achieve their target of Housing for All by 2022 through Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). This can be reiterated from the fact that it has sanctioned 80 lakh houses under PMAY Urban and additional 1.95 crore houses proposed to be provided under PMAY Rural.
The government has been consistent with its efforts in addressing affordable housing, be it giving infrastructure status to this segment in the previous budget to exemption of Rs 1.5 lakh in income tax on home loans under affordable housing in this budget. This is a big move as it will benefit a broader segment of home buyers and increase demand going forward.
Addressing NBFC crisis:Also the support of Rs. 1 lakh crore by Government to NBFCs will help solve liquidity crisis to some extent which will indirectly help the recovery of the real estate sector.
Infrastructure Push: The Government has also focussed on a firm infrastructure push by announcing Rs 100 lakh crore investments. This will certainly boost the real estate sector and also help in employment generation.”
-Navin Makhija, Managing Director, The Wadhwa Group

“The government has announced a divestment target of 1.05 lakh crore for FY20. This is one of the ambitious targets set by the government after they successfully achieved the 90000 crore target in the last financial year. The government needs buoyant market conditions to meet this target. The government has stated they are looking at strategic sale (or privatization) and this target may include the strategic sale of Air India, probably the first one which may be divested. However most of these divestment target will most probably be met by transferring state to CPSE ETFs, Offer For Sale or by selling stake to institutions like LIC.”
-Rajiv Singh, CEO Stock Broking

Date:

Saturday, July 6, 2019