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Union Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: The Union Budget 2021 is almost here as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur and senior officials of the finance ministry have already participated in the symbolic 'Halwa Ceremony' that marks the beginning of compilation of budget documents. Union Budget 2021 is scheduled to be presented in Parliament on February 1, 2021.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has promised a never before like Union Budget as the Modi government looks to give a further boost to the Indian economy. Ahead of the Union Budget 2021 presentation, here are all the LIVE updates on the expectations from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Budget 2021:-

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Shreyas Kumar, Director & CFO, ZEISS India

“Over the years the “doing business in India” concept has been getting better with many schemes being introduced that are industry friendly. However, in February 2020, a new legislation was introduced for regulation of Medical Devices which has included Spectacle Lenses and has added complexities including necessitation for ISO13485 Certification as mandatory. 

We are of the opinion that introducing this certification as a pre-requisite for a simple product such as Spectacle Lenses is exaggerated. Instead we find adherence to a Quality Management System such as ISO9001 is definitely a necessity to ensure stable and standardised processes are followed for production of these lenses.

So in the upcoming budget announcement, we request the Government to consider the industry sentiment and drop the mandatory ISO13485 certification requirement. Instead, the Government can consider added production linked incentives for the spectacle lens industry setting up business in Karnataka.”

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Kiran Dham, CEO, Globus Infocom Ltd.

"Over the past year, the Government has created hope in the economy through its Aatma Nirbhar Bharat initiative that seeks to boost local manufacturing and production. The manufacturing sector needs significant Government support if it is to convert the moving out projects from China to India.

The Government must create a competitive tariff structure with increased duty of finished goods. Also, the manufacturing of raw material in India should be encouraged and a manufacturing ecosystem should be created based on industry specific clusters. Incentivizing the new entrants initiating manufacturing in India could boost the spirit to manufacture in India. The land to set up the manufacturing unit should be available at subsidized rates which till date is seen as one of the biggest deterrent to start manufacturing in India.

The GST structure should be made less complex for MSMEs to make tax compliance easier and simpler."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Kushang, CEO and Co-Founder, SupplyNote

"The startup ecosystem needs funds and capital now more than ever. The government needs to facilitate the capital inflow from all possible channels. The budget should remove the corporate dividend distribution tax or levy DDT at low rate to encourage foreign investors. Secondly, startups should be able to get easy loans at low interest rates. At this point, it’s all about taking immediate steps for faster recovery.”

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Farman Beig, Founder and CEO of Wat-a-Burger

“Due to coronavirus outbreak, food and beverage industry has suffered a major blow. Also, understanding the fact that this particular sector employs a huge number of semi-skilled and under-skilled manpower, it becomes imperative to enable a fast recovery system. For a food service provider, it takes multiple licenses to be able to establish a business. And it has been this way for over years. This procedure needs to be simplified to make it more productive for an F&B business. Secondly, the sector requires reintroduction of the inputs tax credit. Hence, the budget is expected to provide the sector with smooth compliance and regulatory procedures and credit flow streams to accelerate the recovery,” said  a dynamic burger joint.

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Keerthivasan Subramanian- Founder & CEO, Playtoome

“Due to the pandemic, the funding has dried up in the startup sector. This has already resulted in aspiring entrepreneurs deferring their businesses and launches. The situation is making it challenging for early-stage startups too which have just sprouted and need a constant working capital resource. Also, there has been a reduction in foreign investments. It is very important for the budget to take under consideration the difficult times that the new startups are going through and announce steps that would encourage the inflow of financial support to put the wheel in motion again."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Vivek Sharma- Founder and CEO, Fixcraft

"Overall automobile industry has been suffering for quite long. Due to COVID 19, the situation has become even more challenging. The upcoming budget is expected to address this long-standing situation. Also, for the startup community, it is imperative to maintain strong capital support. Investors have become very cautious about investing in the sector, hence a major fund allocation is required to keep the wheel rotating. There is also a need to ensure the ease of business procedures at all levels."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Mahesh M, CEO, Creaticity

 "As a home retail enabler, we would be keenly looking out for some sops given to the residential real estate to encourage more absorption, mainly in terms of home interiors. Secondly, we look forward to a reduction in the customs duty on furniture products and raw materials whose burden is currently shouldered by the end consumers. Doing so will make products more affordable while also strengthening the Make in India initiative. Finally, it would be interesting to see something like a work from home (WFH) allowance to encourage people to invest in furniture associated with the home office setup. As private sector companies are widely adopting this trend, this step would provide a major fillip to the retail sector."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Rahul Garg, Founder – Moglix

"The first paperless budget is symbolic of the offline to online shift that has already accelerated. Beginning with the massive supply chain marvel of distributing the COVID19 vaccine to 1.3 Billion people, 2021 will be an inflection point in India’s supply chain transformation journey. The outlay and the fiscal prudence in the execution stages of the National Infrastructure Pipeline will set the stage for a continuous improvement program for the manufacturing supply chain. It will also be important for the government to consider fiscal incentives for OEMs that source goods made in India from the local MSME supplier ecosystem and unlock new avenues for local demand generation and distribution of industrial goods and manufacturing services. The government should consider fiscal innovations like supporting investment by large enterprises in long-term digitization projects and technology collaborations to sustain the momentum gained in the Digital India initiative."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Anand K., CEO, SRL Diagnostics

“While the healthcare segment has been a key focus area and part of country’s development plan through various comprehensive initiatives including Swachh Bharat, Ayushman Bharat, National Digital Health Mission and now ‘Mission Covid Suraksha, the long-term response to the virus needs a significant part of budget allocation. 

The pandemic has reinstated the fact that, the government needs substantial investments in funding researches on infectious diseases and strengthening the capabilities of relevant institutions. Avian flu, SARS, MERS, Ebola, etc, are a clear example of the warning signals that the governments worldwide have ignored this segment for a long time, and now with bacterial infections becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, common infections can potentially become life-threatening in the future. To achieve this, it will be pivotal for government to join hands with private sector, while re-directing their focus on life science, healthcare and diagnostics. The healthcare policies need to take into account the entire value chain of healthcare - prevention of diseases, treatment and health insurance, to achieve the goal of universal health coverage.”

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Ashneer Grover, CEO and Co-founder, BharatPe

"The year 2020 was unprecedented for all industries alike, and hence, it is imperative that the Union Budget this year factors in the right measures that can ensure faster business recovery. The Government should explore the option of rationalising tax rates and/or reducing taxes for end customers. This will help increase the spending power of the end customer, and in turn, fuel demand for businesses across industries.
 
India’s digital transformation is being led by fintech companies in this post-COVID world and bigger and better incentives will provide the much needed impetus to the industry segment. The Government’s earlier move of making MDR zero was well appreciated and helped the adoption of digital payments. A similar move is needed to fuel card acceptance across small merchants. I believe that the Government should look at making MDR zero or offering incentives/subsidy to small merchants accepting card payments. This will increase the adoption of digital payments and in turn, enable fintechs like ours to offer higher loans to the merchant partners.
 
Another aspect which requires equal attention is the establishment of a regulatory body that can report and manage the malpractices existing in the segment. I think that the government should explore the option of forming a Central Bureau for Fraud, develop a centralised system for fraudulent practices reporting and ensure data security and privacy to the industry and the consumers.
 
India has emerged as the startup hub of the world. It is the startups that are leading the way when it comes to generating employment or bringing foreign capital to the country. While the Government has rolled out a large number of initiatives with the objective of building a robust ecosystem for merchants, I think it would be good if startups can get waiver on GST/ reduction on GST. This can go a long way in adding to their savings and in turn, contribute to their growth.”

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Pallav Bihani, Founder & CEO, Boldfit 

"2020 was a year when the country’s fitness sector was hit hard due to lockdowns and the Covid-19 fear which mostly kept people away from offline gyms, fitness clubs, etc.  Hence, at the outset of the new financial year, i.e. FY 2021-'22, the fitness industry is seeking tax reliefs, incentives and policy-level support from the Government,  in order to enable momentum for recovery. Now more than ever, fitness needs to be made affordable and accessible to all sections of society. The Government should work towards promoting fitness-oriented, healthy lifestyles on a larger scale, and allocating more funds on preventive healthcare in the upcoming Union Budget can be a good idea.

The current GST rate of 18% levied on fitness-related products and services in India is too high, and it has made fitness goods quite expensive for customers. Bringing down the GST for fitness products/services to the 5% bracket would benefit the industry and the country at large. Further, the Government should also consider reducing GST for health-enhancing and immunity-building supplements (including vitamins, tablets and capsules), as well as lowering GST for privately-run gyms and fitness centres. At the same time, we would like to urge the Government to increase the import duties for health and fitness supplements that are manufactured in foreign countries; having higher import duties for such products would promote the consumption of India-made products, and thus contribute towards furthering the 'Make-in-India' campaign and 'Aatmanirbhar Abhiyan'.

 

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Amol Roy, Founder, Shutter Cast

"We have our hopes pinned on the Union Budget 2021 wherein we expect the government to make significant investments in the latest tools and technologies. Creating the right environment to boost the start-up ecosystem, adopting measures for cyber and information security, higher internet penetration to push companies in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and increased access to net connectivity in rural areas should be some areas of focus to fill crucial gaps in the tech space''.

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Chandru Kalro, Managing Director of TTK Prestige

‘’I salute the efforts of the government in alleviating the multiple challenges faced by Indians during the pandemic. Initiatives like the stimulus packages and others played a critical role in infusing liquidity and kick starting demand  in the market.

For this budget, I remain optimistic that the government will continue on this upward trajectory, to provide a further boost to the recovering economy. I would like to see the government turn their attention from rural to the urban middle class. I believe tax breaks for the salaried class will be immensely beneficial, including steps to support the housing market. At this time, the middle class need all the help they can get as they have been badly impacted.

I would also like to see the Finance Minister promote exports, in keeping with the ‘Make-in-India’ and anti-China sentiment. For our industry, I would welcome PLI schemes to provide an impetus to India’s manufacturing prospects and the kitchenware industry.  Any support when it comes to ease in GST compliance, is also something that I am looking forward to seeing in the budget.’’

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Rajeev Shah, Senior Partner of Mumbai-based chartered accountancy firm, Bihani & Shah

"The norms regarding the MSME Act and policies which have been declared, while are fine, but there is no efficient system to follow up regarding violation. If there is a late payment or deferred payment, MSME's do not have a way to get the payment and there is no proper follow-up system in place. The MSME policies are frankly working in a reverse way because businesses are giving work to non-MSME as they don't have to stick to the 45 days payment window and other rigorous provisions of the MSME Act. So rather than helping small and medium businesses in India, this Act has created counter effects.

I expect the government to address this concern and have a better and easier understanding of the Act. Currently, the compliance faced by small businesses due to GST procedures is a lot too and has increased overhead costs for businesses."

 

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Sonam Shah, Founder and CEO, Treize Communications

"Budget 2021 will be the first Budget in a post-pandemic economy, so a lot of expectations are set, especially by business owners and entrepreneurs who have been facing a lot of challenges in running their company. Our Finance Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman has promised a "never before" like Union Budget and I have expectations that it will live up to that. The upcoming Budget should focus more on reviving the country's economy and bringing in relief for SME's, MSME's, and entrepreneurial business models. It is imperative to understand that small businesses across India, hold great importance in reviving the country’s economy at a fast rate and creating job opportunities, so a continuous support from the government is always welcomed to grow this sector.

I would love to see this Budget favouring women in businesses. A lot of women have started small businesses during the lockdown to support the family, and there should be a proper way in helping them set up a business model within it and also guide them in financial matters. Educating them on matters related to tax and helping them ease the process will help. There should be tax benefits for women entrepreneurs as well as incentives for women-led businesses that are paying timely taxes. The government should also offer incentives for homegrown businesses that are paying tax on time. Easing the taxpayer's load is will be a welcome and supportive change.

The tax procedures need to be made simpler and easy to understand as there are many challenges cropping up for independent small businesses across India. While digitisation is important, we, in India, have a lot of businesses that are run by individuals who cannot easily adapt to the new ways of digital working. There is an overburden in compliance, which increases overhead costs for any business. There should be a substitute method for this too.

Also, with payments and cashflow being affected badly this year, strict norms and policies in late and default payments should be set up and implemented. This increases workflow capital which is needed to keep business running."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Ambrish Parajiya, Director, GAP Associates Pvt. Ltd.

"The real estate sector in our country was hit hard during the Covid lockdown and has been facing liquidity issues for a prolonged period. In view of these facts, the Finance Ministry, during the upcoming Union Budget, must come up with pro-active measures/incentives to aid the industry to gain sustainable momentum for recovery. Interest rates can be lowered, easier financing options can be made available and subsidies in terms of direct and indirect taxes can be provided for all construction companies and real estate developers of the nation.  
 
Another key expectation from the upcoming Budget is that the Government should revise circle rates of land in both urban and rural areas, and work towards making circle rates at par with the current market rates. Doing this will help wipe out black money and multiply stamp duty collection for the Government exchequer; on the other hand, figuring the real cost of land shall help developers acquire adequate finances from legitimate sources to fund their projects.

From the perspective of infrastructure development, aspirational long-term projects like DMIC (Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor) should be put on fast-track mode by the Government, with an aim to accelerate employment and job creation at scale. Furthermore, new projects involving interlinking of rivers and connecting expressways to major seaports should be proposed during the upcoming Budget. Infusing more funds into ‘affordable housing’-related projects can be a good idea, as it will help us in achieving the target of Housing for All by 2022."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Gautam Das, Co-Founder and CEO - Oorjan Cleantech Private Limited  

''Entrepreneurs run on lean resources and access to low cost financing and/or equity investment would be of help. Suggest the government should make investment in startups up to a certain amount tax free as the investor takes risks on new business. Entrepreneurs add value to consumers and create jobs while solving problems. They take risks and are pioneers in introducing new technologies, set trends and push the boundary. The ease of doing business is crucial especially for start-ups. There have been many pro-business announcements by the government but implementation has been a challenge. Transparent and time bound implementation is key.

Economic growth has to go hand in hand with environmental sustainability. Traditional sources of electricity cause irreversible damage to our environment and renewable energy is the solution. Distributed solar policies and incentives should be pro-consumer. To ensure hassle free adoption of alternative energy, we expect the government to facilitate access to low cost financing and implement transparency in policies. Net-metering across states in distributed solar should be immediately allowed by the Ministry of Power (MoP) to encourage widespread adoption of green energy. Charges pertaining to open access projects need to be rationalised and the approval process streamlined for easier implementation."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Amit Nigam, Executive Director & COO, BANKIT

“2021 budget is possibly going to be one of the most crucial budget announcements we’ve had as a country in recent times. The last year was a year of survival and challenges, although it has sparked the startup industry and entrepreneurs working to strive in these challenging times. So this time, we are expecting some relief and special measures to be taken by our government to revive the economy and help the startup to grow financially. The major pointer to look forward to in the upcoming budget is ease in taxes which can help lessen up the burden from small and new businesses.”

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Kavin Kumar Kandasamy, CEO and Founder, MY

“The traditional economy is now changing rapidly and there is a paradigm shift to new age thinking and employee welfare to create a breakdown free world. It is imperative that the budget focuses more on employee safety and wellness as well as provides incentives to companies to implement the same. This will ensure a quicker return to workplaces and bounce back of the Indian Economy. Startups working in this space should be provided tax breaks and seed funding to bring new-age technology that prevents another breakdown.” 

 

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Preethaa Ganesh, Vice President, Vels Group of Institutions

"The Union Budget for 2021-2022 is a much-awaited one as this would be the first budget after the introduction of New Education Policy. We are expecting for the government to increase the fund allocation for education and we wish the allocation goes up for higher education specifically, in order to cater to India's ever-growing need for quality human capital. The budget should also have an increased focus on the accessibility and usage of digital education in Tier 2, 3 cities. Considering that private universities and colleges cater to a large number of students in the country, the government should focus on how private institutions can be supported in building world-class institutions that can make India as one of the preferred higher education destinations in the world”.

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Kshitish Nadgauda, Senior Vice President | Managing Director - Asia, Louis Berger

"Reflecting on the year gone by as far as infrastructure development is concerned, the best that could be said is that the status quo was largely maintained with most ongoing projects continuing to be executed across all sectors, albeit at a slower progress rate on account of the nationwide lockdown imposed starting 23 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with relaxations beginning to be introduced only around mid-May 2020. New projects were either stalled or experienced a longer tender and award cycle. It is worth noting that the economy had slowed down even before the pandemic which necessitated diversion of critical resources towards the containment of the same. Funds had to be diverted to social and health-related causes. The economy started to show signs of a modest recovery in September, with new infrastructure projects beginning to come online towards the end of the year.

In 2021, with the country now largely open for business barring remaining restrictions on international flights, it is a must for the government to give the economy a solid boost with a generous stimulus package for large infrastructure projects. This would be the surest way for an economic rebound, creating thousands of much-needed jobs. The government needs to boost infrastructure spending across all sectors, but with a focus on de-densification of urban settlements through low-cost housing programs and through the establishment of greenfield development nodes with state-of-the-art infrastructure away from existing urban centers. Such development nodes would need employment-generating investments. The Government must therefore reassess the policy framework towards attracting more foreign direct investment across diverse sectors. Healthcare infrastructure must also receive a significant boost such that any such occurrence in the future could be better handled without crippling the economy."

Shilpa Khanna Thakkar, Co Founder, Chicnutrix

"Amongst many things I would expect that the budget focuses on easing the financial framework and incentivise start-ups that are building entrepreneurial skills in the youth of the country and creating value for the future. The demographics of India are overweight on the young population who are going to be the leaders of tomorrow and if we can support them, they will payback thereby driving economic thrust for the country. Currently the framework is such the their is financial support for profit making organisation but the actual value creators of tomorrow are the ones who may not be making profit currently but will be the ones driving the economy of tomorrow and help us reach USD 10 trillion economy.

Additionally, I would also encourage the finance minister to focus on incentivising healthcare, targeted especially at women and children, who are the foundation of our country and constitute majority especially in rural sector. The current pandemic has clearly proved that a nation's ability to manage and succeed in fighting such external forces is largely dependent on the health and immunity of its population. Covid impacted unhealthy people more than healthy people which clearly proves that health infrastructure is of utmost importance."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Rameesh Kailasam, CEO, IndiaTech.org

"The Government has been introducing various initiatives with the intent of promoting start-ups to maximize their potential. India is already home to 21 unicorns and there are many others who will add to the soonicorn and unicorn bandwagon. That said, start-ups require regulatory clarity, level playing field and policies that will help them to not only thrive in India but be able to emerge and explore global markets in future. There are multiple consumer internet based start-ups and companies that are gearing up for IPOs in the coming year. However, for wealth creation to truly happen in India, the government needs to create an enabling regulatory environment to allow such promising unicorns to list in India. This is essentially because there is a definitive requirement for further relaxing Main Board listing norms for high growth technology companies. Additionally, we need to provide certain ease certain onerous tax regulations that unnecessarily block working capital and growth for these start-ups. For instance, Section 194(O) which mandates 1% TDS on every e-commerce transaction overlooks the negative impact that it has on several sectors such as travel, insurance etc. and burdens them significantly. Similarly, ESOP taxation relaxations announced during the previous Budget limits its applicability to those startups who are only registered with IMB which restricts a larger ecosystem to benefit from the same. It is essential that this Budget recognizes some of these pressing policy challenges and provide reliefs that would help the sector to grow globally and do justice to Atmanirbhar vision of the Government."  

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Harsh Bhuta, partner of Bhuta Shah & Co LLP

"The FM has her task cut out this Budget 2021 as the economy is reeling from the covid-19 induced recession. The theme of this budget should be to revive growth, catalyze the capex cycle and boost consumer confidence.

The FM should consider reintroduction of single tax slab structure and increase the minimum taxable income threshold from Rs 5 lakhs to 7.5 lakhs. Further, work from Home (WFH) allowance / reimbursements made by employers to employees should be explicitly made non-taxable in the hands of the employee and allowed as a business expense in the hands of the employer.

Research and Development (R&D) thrust - the weighted deduction under section 35(2AB) of the Income Tax Act should be reinstated at 1.5 to 2 times the expenditure. The mission of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ cannot be achieved without incentivizing research. Several countries globally give tremendous benefits to R&D expenditure such as UK (230% to SMEs), Singapore (200-250%) and China (150-175%). Investments in R&D activities must be incentivized to encourage innovation of new products and technologies, particularly in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, which is the need of the hour.

Data Infrastructure and Artificial Intelligence: India missed the last two industrial revolutions but now needs to be at forefront of the next one which will be spearheaded by AI and Data Science. Budget 2021 should fund data infrastructure and AI startups should be given specific tax breaks and grants.

Holding Period for capital gains of debt-oriented growth mutual funds should be reduced to 12 months from existing 36 months for it to qualify as a long-term capital asset.

Long Term Capital Gains rate on real estate assets should be reduced from 20% to 10% and holding period should be reduced from 24 months to 12 months."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Rahul Pagidipati, CEO, ZebPay

"We’re optimistic that the government now recognizes the huge potential of blockchain technology and of Bitcoin as a reserve asset for companies, individuals, and even central banks in the near future. Crypto assets, properly regulated, can bring tremendous economic benefit.
The government’s twin goals of promoting prosperity and protecting people from fraud and harm are our goals, too. That’s why we have world-class security, KYC, and AML policies.

We hope 2021 will bring healthy regulations for crypto investors, so they can know how to pay taxes correctly and access all the potential of this revolutionary new asset class."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Sunil Kulkarni, CEO and head of Business Correspondent Federation of India (BCFI)

“While urban banked customers are reaping the benefits of UPI and mobile banking services, the Business Correspondents (BC) Industry - the last mile in branchless banking, is hoping that the upcoming budget will implement the recommendation of RBI constituted "Report of High-Level Committee on Deepening of Digital Payments-May 2019" headed by Nandan Nilekani for under-banked urban/rural population by making BC originated and terminated transactions of IMPS and AEPS exempted from GST, which is currently levied at an effective rate of 27% on these customers. Considering the business correspondent's fraternity serves the lower bracket of the income pyramid, the tax bracket is very high. Additionally, for better penetration of financial services to the masses, BC's should be permitted to offer products and services of more than one or two banks. The industry has already witnessed the critical role BC's played during the pandemic lockdown by helping deliver banking and financial services to the last mile. We hope our concerns get highlighted and resolved with favourable policies during the budget announcement."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Anand K., CEO, SRL Diagnostics

“While the healthcare segment has been a key focus area and part of country’s development plan through various comprehensive initiatives including Swachh Bharat, Ayushman Bharat, National Digital Health Mission and now ‘Mission Covid Suraksha, the long-term response to the virus needs a significant part of budget allocation. 

The pandemic has reinstated the fact that, the government needs substantial investments in funding researches on infectious diseases and strengthening the capabilities of relevant institutions. Avian flu, SARS, MERS, Ebola, etc, are a clear example of the warning signals that the governments worldwide have ignored this segment for a long time, and now with bacterial infections becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, common infections can potentially become life-threatening in the future. To achieve this, it will be pivotal for government to join hands with private sector, while re-directing their focus on life science, healthcare and diagnostics. The healthcare policies need to take into account the entire value chain of healthcare - prevention of diseases, treatment and health insurance, to achieve the goal of universal health coverage.”

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Abhimanyu Saxena, Co-founder, Scaler and InterviewBit

"The year 2020 has been a turning point for every organisation working in the space of ed-tech. It has allowed students and young professionals with ample time and opportunities to build on their skills. Continuing on this journey, 2021 is a crucial year, and it will set the course for the entire industry for years to come. 

With the new budget, we expect that the government will lower the GST levied on the ed-tech industry. It is currently at 18%, if it were to go down by even 1or2,  it would have a significant impact - making online education that much more accessible and affordable. Another thing that could be implemented is allowing working professionals some tax benefits redeemed against the fees paid for online upskilling courses and programs. It is a great motivator for professionals to upskill while allowing our nation to build a more diverse talent pool comparable to the best in the world. Further, interest paid on loans for higher education is exempt from Income tax. A similar policy can be introduced for loans being taken for online courses as well. 

Recognition from apex bodies like UGC, AICTE, and NSDC will also help alleviate digital education and upskilling programs' status and awareness. All or some of these measures are sure to encourage more and more working professionals to upgrade their skill levels and knowledge. In the long run, this is bound to better the country's human development index. We are on a cusp of an education revolution, and any impetus from the government will go a long way in establishing India as the hub for skilled talent."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Tejas Khoday, Co-founder and CEO, FYERS 

“With an economy that is gradually reviving from a Covid-induced slump, investors and citizens at large, will be eager to watch the policy measures proposed by the finance minister, both at home and abroad. At an individual level, given the unwarranted effect of COVID on the salaried incomes, taxpayers would be relieved to be awarded with an upgrade in the personal income tax slabs. That said, given the fiscal situation and the state of direct tax collections, it remains to be seen whether such a relief measure would be possible by the government.

 

On the stock market front, a lot of regulatory changes were announced by the SEBI over the last few months, to reduce systemic risks within the broking industry and to bring in additional transparency. While most stakeholders are acclimatizing to these new regulatory changes, the FM can extend support by certain measures, putting the investment and broking community on a strong footing. A few proposals that can bring cheer to retail investors are:

 

·         Abolishing the much-criticized Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG) tax. This would be a welcome move. A widely discussed point of note is redefining the concept of Long Term to 2 years and the change of taxation to Zero. This would also be a welcome move, as it can bring stability to the duration of investments across financial assets.

·         Reduction in the quantum of Securities Transaction Tax (STT) / Commodity Transaction Tax (CTT), which has been a long pending wish from one and all

 

These are critical points of note and any relief in one or both of these proposals would go a long way in boosting the investment spirit of all investors – retail, institutional, Indian as well as global.”

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Raj Shamani, Founder of Shamani Industries

"As India hopes to recover from the COVID-19-induced economic crisis, all eyes are now on the Union Budget for the upcoming financial year. One expectation from the 2021 Budget, The budget should be favourable to common tax payers. This year they were the one most affected, they are the ones with maximum EMIs, maximum responsibility and expenses on recurring basis but because of the pandemic they have seen the lowest days. Providing some relief to the common man is the need of the hour With this year’s budget I am expecting some relief in the tax slab for the common tax payers. Given the fact that this is the first budget in the post COVID, the industry is hoping for concrete measures to revive the economy, ways to increase consumer demand particularly in sectors that were hit hard by the Covid crisis like retail industry, tourism, Hospitality etc."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Viraj Sheth, Co- Founder, Monk Entertainment

"Budget 2021 is possibly going to be one of the most crucial budget announcements we’ve had as a country in recent times. Of course, with the pandemic in 2020, everyone has their eyes set on the crucial reforms to be sanctioned in the budget this year. As a medium-sized enterprise owner and entrepreneur, one of  the key expectations I have from the budget is focussed on improving the health of the state of the MSMEs in our country. The backbone of the Indian economy is the income and employment generated by millions of MSMEs across the country. Although, due to the pandemic a lot of the companies have had to shut shop due to the lockdown leading to a massive cash crunch and lack of opportunities. All of this while their staff migrated back to their homes. A lot of entrepreneurs are hoping for relief measures in the form of credit lending. Moreover, with the pandemic, the push towards digital adoption of businesses has only been expedited. Educating the MSMEs and giving them easier access to adapt to this new world would reap immense benefits."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Shashank Udupa, Co- founder and CFO, Avalon Meta

"The Budget 2021 is going to be quite exciting to watch this year. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the GoI has spent a lot of money in reviving the economy by providing different reliefs over time, which it must somehow recover. At the same time, the common man also expects some relief from the budget such as Tax cuts, increase in deduction limits from 80C, decreased interest rates on loans or say a continued moratorium on existing loan payments.

Also, a lot of retail investors are hoping for the Long Term Capital Gains Tax (LTCG) to be abolished which would provide a lot of relief to existing retail investors as the government currently charges both LTCG and Securities Transaction Tax (STT). With Sensex close to a historic high of 50,000 levels, a favourable 2021 Budget will push the market to new highs and vice versa

“While India is slowly recovering from the Covid induced slump, all eyes are on the budget and the possibility of tax reliefs for the average middle class Indian which would help boost spending and thus revival of the economy"

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Alok Bansal, MD and Country Head, Visionet

"With technological disruption gradually becoming a catalyst for the rise of MSMEs and startups today, it is expected that the government will make the necessary investments in technology hubs, which in turn will help in strengthening emerging technologies like AI, machine learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT). As the country is amidst a boom in digital technology adoption, this year’s Union Budget needs to make way for relevant measures to ensure that the right amount of thrust is given to tech build-up, favorable tax policies, and other opportunities will spell progress for the MSMEs.

The government also needs to make substantial efforts to set up a robust digital ecosystem for encouraging budding entrepreneurs and introduce measures that make it even easier to conduct business in India. This will be highly beneficial for startups and SMEs. It will further attract more companies and organizations to set up their offices or invest in India.

The government should pay attention to employing technologies that can be used to upskill or reskill the workforce employed by India’s MSME sector. Specialized tech centers can be set up and operated by the government and industry groups to equip the workforce with the required skills and perform AI-empowered hybrid jobs. Such interventions by the government have numerous upsides to them, starting with increased earning potential that will pave the way towards the strong economic growth of the MSME sector."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Kanika Agarrwal, Chief Investment Officer, Upside AI

"This year, because the economy is still recovering from COVID, the government has a unique opportunity to make structural changes that will have an immediate short-term impact. A perpetual work in progress, we must focus on jobs, output, and infrastructure spending. We hope the government can refocus its effort on reducing the role and size of government through disinvestment, a reasonable and stable tax regime, and friendlier regulations.

Secondly, we hope the budget provides the government’s strategy on cutting edge technology in AI/ML. The next generation of tech startups will be critical in deciding our place in the world. The government must incentivize, subsidize and promote companies and innovators focused on practical applications of AI/ ML technologies.

Lastly, while ease of doing business focuses on large companies, there are many issues faced by startups, especially because often they are innovating products that don’t even have set regulations yet. We hope the Budget provides for better dialogue for early-stage startups, their specific regulatory and tax compliance issues, sandboxes to try new products, ease of receiving venture capital, etc."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Neeraj Tyagi- Founder and CEO, We Founder Circle

“The previous budget did not completely address the expectations and requirements of the startup ecosystem. There were some misses including – working capital crunch, tax parity on capital gains etc. This time the expectations are more due to pandemic and this makes it a big opportunity too if addressed right. After the COVID- 19 outbreak, startups are leading the technology adaptation across the sectors. This has further built an interest among corporate to invest in startups and technology-oriented projects. Therefore, this is the right time for the government to incentivize the startup funding and work towards relaxing the policies to encourage angel investors to invest more. Also, the government needs to push major fund allocation and also lower the GST which currently has narrowed the scope of maneuvering for startups."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Vivek Sharma- Founder and CEO, Fixcraft

"Overall automobile industry has been suffering for quite long. Due to COVID 19, the situation has become even more challenging. The upcoming budget is expected to address this long-standing situation. Also, for the startup community, it is imperative to maintain strong capital support. Investors have become very cautious about investing in the sector, hence a major fund allocation is required to keep the wheel rotating. There is also a need to ensure the ease of business procedures at all levels." 

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Harshit Jain  MD, Founder and CEO, Doceree

"The pandemic hit India’s healthcare severely and in spite of waiting until 2015 to reach the target of 2.5% of GDP to be spent on healthcare, the government should eye reaching it in the next two years so that healthcare infrastructure in the country could be improved. It is also high time that the spend is significantly increased, given the population of our country is so huge. Additionally, while universal health coverage is a welcome step and so is the idea of Health IDs, they must not remain on papers and get mired in red tape, facing delays. In the upcoming budget, allocations and timelines should be announced so that they get implemented in an organized manner and we are closer to realizing the vision of making healthcare accessible and affordable. Besides, innovative healthcare startups that are working to promote accessibility and affordability should be encouraged by way tax benefits and tax holidays so that government and private partners can work together to make the condition of Indian healthcare better."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Prem Kishan Dass Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, Gateway Distriparks Ltd.

“The year 2020 has disrupted and challenged the logistics sector in different ways. However, the logistics sector still serves as one of the key economic drivers because of its thriving infrastructure and improved connectivity. From Union Budget 2021 we expect strong support and initiatives for the EXIM industry which will help in increasing volumes. 

We hope the budget will have enhanced allocation to the Indian Railways for completion of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project at the earliest, so that the industry can benefit from the new rail infrastructure at this time when the focus is to increase manufacturing in India. This will immensely benefit ports, exporters, importers, shipping lines, container train operators and other consumers of Rail transport.

As a Logistics company, we are looking at government’s increased investment in infrastructure, which will provide further impetus to boost the overall economy.”