The budget proposals, according to GVK Group founder-chairman and managing director G.V.K. Reddy, will help revive infrastructure investment.
Describing it as a “growth-oriented budget”, he hailed the proposed investment of Rs.70,000 crore along with the risk sharing mechanism for PPP projects, setting up of a national investment and infrastructure fund and deepening of the bond markets. Abolition of wealth tax, social security for all, focus on ease of doing business and a more predictable tax regime are all steps in the right direction to take the economy to a double digit growth over the next few years, Dr. Reddy said in a statement.
‘Outstanding’
Describing the budget as “outstanding with a focussed growth trajectory for the next 3-4 years,” Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories chairman Satish Reddy said it broadly is in line with the expectations of India Inc.
However, he expressed disappointment at the “grossly inadequate outlay of Rs.150 crore on a fund that was announced to fuel innovation. More could have been done in this area, especially from a pharma industry perspective to propel India’s healthcare to a whole new level, he said in a statement.
Mr. Reddy hailed the budget for providing “a lot of clarity and much needed direction” that will set the agenda for positive growth and ease of doing business.
The Rs.70,000 crore outlay on infrastructure and additional 4,000 MW power projects, he added, would help revitalise the investment climate in the economy.
Growth momentum
Union budget proposals offer considerable growth momentum for technology start-ups and entrepreneurship. Hyderabad, where lot is happening in terms of innovation, these will be of significance, Cyient executive chairman B.V.R. Mohan Reddy said.
Mr. Reddy, who is also vice-chairman of NASSCOM, listed SETU (Self Employment Talent Utilisation) techno-financial incubation scheme and AIM (Atal Innovation Mission) to foster research and development and innovation as key positives. Coupled with the recent T-hub initiative of Telangana government, these will take forward the sizeable amount of action seen at different levels in the city to hand-hold start-ups.
Concerns, however, remain in the form of continuation of Angel tax – which is levied on the amount received by start-ups over their fair market valuation. “Duality in service tax and sales tax applicability to product companies is also not addressed,” he said.
The reduction in tax on royalty/fee for technical services, from 25 to 10 per cent, will help bring down the cost of technology and act as an incentive for technology deployment. E-commerce, Mr. Mohan Reddy replied to a query, will get a boost from the decision to incentivize credit or debit card transactions.
Access to healthcare
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd joint managing director Sangita Reddy said the budget provides a holistic roadmap for greater access to healthcare.
This, it seeks by linking Jan Dhan Yojna financial inclusion programme, social security and health insurance. Hailing it as a stable budget that puts money in hands of individuals and states, she said tax exemptions announced on health insurance for all, in particular for the elderly, are a major positive.
Ms. Reddy said in the subsequent years the government should a lot more to create an ecosystem that benefits healthcare providers — both in terms of health education and infrastructure.
The decision to offer visa on arrival for 150 additional countries is a progressive move and facilitate medical tourism, a growth sector that showcases India’s world-class health facilities, she said.
Decent balance
The budget proposals are a well coordinated effort to take forward the Make in India initiative to encourage manufacturing sector as well technology start ups, Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association president Ramesh Loganathan said.
He counted among the “small items that add up to the impetus” the proposed reduction in corporate tax since it would leave more funds with companies for investments and growth, skill development mission and Rs.1,000 crore corpus for an investment/incubation fund for start-ups. The manufacturing sector will benefit from the technical services tax reduction and reduction of duties on raw material import. Mr. Loganathan, who is vice-president and managing director of Progress Software, said there may be nothing dramatic but the budget seems to be growth inducing. It provided a decent balance of social reforms and growth initiatives.
