Page 3 - Budget And Industry

Budget should focus on citizens' welfare, mfg sector: WB's chief economist

The Modi government needs to focus on welfare of ordinary citizens in the upcoming Budget and earmark more funds for the manufacturing sector to boost small businesses and create more jobs, former World Bank chief economist Kaushik Basu said on Tuesday. In an interview with PTI, Basu further said it is critically important for the government to shift some of its attention to ground-level economic welfare. "I hope that, starting with the Union Budget this month, the government will turn its attention to the welfare of ordinary citizens and not just to climbing up the chart of aggregate GDP," he said. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Budget for 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha on July 23. "I believe that the rich can afford to pay higher taxes and using this money to incentivize the manufacturing sector can go a long way in boosting demand for labour, helping small businesses and raising the income of ordinary people," the eminent economist suggested. Ba

Space industry demands tax exemptions, PLI scheme from Union Budget

Import holidays, GST exemption for components of launch vehicles, productivity-linked incentives (PLI) and government stepping in as a customer are some of the expectations of the private space sector from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as she presents the Union Budget next week. "More money for space related acquisitions, tax holidays, import holidays, and PLI scheme for space," Pixxel Space co-founder and CEO Awais Ahmed told PTI when asked about his wishlist for the budget. Industry bodies Indian Space Association (ISpA) and Satcom Industry Association (SIA-India) have sought greater government expenditure on the space sector in the form of an anchor customer for the nascent private sector. "ISpA calls for a commitment from the government to procure and adopt space technology solutions across various governance areas such as agriculture, disaster management, infrastructure planning and development monitoring, urban development, and remote area connectivity," ISpA director .

Budget 2024: Industry hopes for capital gains tax relief from Centre

Capital gains taxes can range from 10 per cent to as high as 30 per cent, depending on the holding period, which spans from one to three years

Budget Watch: Ayushman Bharat, vaccination programme top agenda for health

In Union Budget for FY25, experts anticipate expanded coverage and increased funding for major health initiatives in the upcoming budget

Budget Watch: Govt may announce new 5G initiatives, focus on R&D for 6G

The government is looking to expand funds for research in rural 5G use cases

Power sector Budget wish list: Funds for green energy, more domestic mfg

Sector executives are expecting a relook of GST rates across the renewable energy supply chain, and viability gap funding for newer sectors

To boost electronics production, ICEA demands lower input tariffs in Budget

Ahead of the Union Budget, India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA) has recommended reduction in input tariffs for building a strong components ecosystem. ICEA based its recommendations on a "tariff study" it conducted across seven competing economies, including India. "...high tariffs on inputs limit the very engine of growth that would lead to higher production. High tariffs on inputs reduce exports because they become uncompetitive, leading to lower production of the final product, i.e., mobile phones. Addressing this requires a reduction in tariffs on inputs. "We recognise that developing the domestic supply chain is extremely critical but the right way is not by protecting with high tariff but drastically reducing disabilities by creating competitiveness and infuse incentive schemes wherever there are gaps," the report, which was released on Tuesday, said. To attract global value chains (GVCs) and increase the scale of production, ICEA said all tariff lines that ...

Insurance firms eye tax reliefs in upcoming Budget to boost penetration

Life insurance companies have called for tax deductions on annuity products as well as lower goods and services tax (GST) on their products

Union Budget 2024-25: MSMEs bat for Rs 5,000 crore export booster

India SME Forum suggested setting up an export promotion and development organisation to support MSMEs in market intelligence, trade opportunities, B2B outreach and connections

Budget 2024: What does India's power sector expects from FM Sitharaman

Union Budget 2024: Securing supply chain stability and embracing new technologies are essential for the sector's long-term sustainability and efficiency

Budget Watch: Sitharaman likely to address banking, insurance reforms

Government's equity dilution in state-owned lenders will be one issue financial market observers will monitor

Ahead of Budget, hospitality players demand infra status for hotels

Hospitality players want the government to accord infrastructure status to hotels to make investments on new properties more attractive rather than categorising them as luxury or even 'sin goods' in the upcoming Union Budget considering the sector's potential to play a key role in India's growth. They also want the government to consider incentives in the form of tax breaks or subsidies for adopting sustainable and eco-friendly practices, while asserting that the upcoming budget must accelerate the tourism agenda saying it is an opportunity to make Indian hospitality the emerging engine for GDP growth and employment generation. "The sector is burdened with high taxation, expensive and multifarious licences, approvals and compliances. Hotels are capital intensive with a long gestation period. Cost of operating hotels is high and largely fixed. This makes investments in hotels risky. There is a need to make hotel investments more attractive with an improved rate of investment and to .

Budget wish list: Pharma industry seeks tax benefits, effective IPR regime

There is a need to incentivise R&D investments, offer corporate tax concessions and establish an effective intellectual property rights regime in order to push the growth of domestic pharmaceutical industry, as per the industry bodies. Outlining the sector's wish list for the upcoming Union Budget, Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) Director General Anil Matai urged the government to explore methods to incentivise R&D investments, such as deductions on R&D expenses, research-linked incentives for MNCs, and corporate tax concessions. The initiatives will help in accelerating R&D and innovation in the sector, he added. "Recognising the high-risk, long-gestation nature of R&D, we suggest extending the scope of section 115BAB of the Income Tax Act, 1961 to companies solely engaged in pharmaceutical research and development and providing a 200 per cent deduction rate on R&D expenditures," Matai said. This would significantly boost the sector's .

Budget 2024: EEPC urges revival of interest subvention scheme for exporters

The Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC India) has urged the government to revive the interest subvention scheme for exporters in its pre-budget recommendations. EEPC India Chairman Arun Kumar Garodia emphasised the scheme's importance, especially with rising interest rates. He called for restoring the three per cent subvention rate for specific tariff lines and a 5 per cent rate for MSME exporters across all product categories. The recent exclusion of merchant exporters from the Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES) raised concerns. EEPC India argued that merchant exporters, with low profit margins, are significantly impacted by credit costs. They proposed extending the IES benefits to them with a three per cent subvention rate. A government notice extended the IES for two months, but only for MSMEs. This left merchants and large exporters ineligible after June 30. The apex engineering exports promotion body warned this exclusion could hurt these businesses, especially those

Budget 2024: Travel agents expect GST rate rationalisation for tourism

Travel agents body TAAI on Monday sought a slew of measures, including simple visa requirements and encouraging visa-free entry for tourists visiting India, rationalisation of GST rates and GST credit, and industry status for all stakeholders in the segment, among others, for the domestic travel and tourism sector, which contributes 5.8 per cent to the India's economy. "The Union Budget 2024 holds significant expectations for India's travel and tourism sector. India's travel and tourism sector contributes 5.8 per cent to the GDP and aims for a target of USD 1 trillion by 2047. We hope the budget addresses these priorities," Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) said. It said that these measures, if implemented, can significantly enhance India's travel and tourism industry, benefiting both businesses and travellers, it said. Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) in a statement also said that despite its various representations on concerns of ease of doing business, goods and

Fair trade, focus on manufacturing, infra on steel firms' Budget wish list

Steel companies hope the govt will continue to focus on infra expansion while also giving the industry a level playing field to compete with imports

Budget 2024 wish list: ATMA urges govt to restrict import of waste tyres

The Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association (ATMA) on Tuesday said there is a need to restrict import of waste tyres into India, saying the country is becoming a 'dumping ground' for scrap tyres. The import of waste/scrap tyres into India has increased by more than five times since FY20-21, ATMA said in its pre-budget submission to the finance ministry. "Such indiscriminate import of waste/scrap tyres is not only an environmental and safety concern but also undermines the very purpose of Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) Regulation on Waste Tyres which is in place since July 2022," it added. Raising the concern, ATMA Chairman Arnab Banerjee said,"The import of waste/scrap tyres into India needs to be restricted through policy measures and, if necessary, allowed only in multiple cut or shredded form." India has emerged as one of the leading manufacturers of tyres in the world with domestic manufacturing of tyres surpassing 200 million per annum. Accordingly, there is enough

Budget 2024: What does the healthcare sector expect from FM Sitharaman?

Union Budget 2024: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the Budget in the Lok Sabha on July 23

Govt may relax 45-day payment rule for MSMEs in Union Budget 2024

The government may relax the requirement of making payments to MSMEs within 45 days of buying goods and services to check large corporate from looking at other sourcing avenues, sources said. The announcement to this effect could be made in the Budget likely to be presented on July 23. The government is considering suggestions regarding changes to Section 43B(h) of the Income Tax Act made by MSMEs during pre-Budget consultations, sources said. The government in last year's Budget added a new clause under Section 43B of the Income Tax Act to address the challenge of delayed payments faced by MSMEs in the country. According to Section 43B(h) of the Income Tax Act, introduced through the Finance Act 2023, if a larger company does not pay an MSME on time -- within 45 days in case of written agreements -- it cannot deduct that expense from its taxable income, leading to potentially higher taxes. MSMEs fear that due to this provision, large buyers could cold-shoulder MSME suppliers and

Union Budget 2024-25 likely to go vocal for higher local procurement

Greater local content norms may kick in first in steel, chemicals, pharma sectors