Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Here is what India wants - Check latest news, updates, demands here

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 on Saturday 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 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: Narayan ‘Naru’ Ramamoorthy, Chief Revenue Officer, Global PayEX

“AI can digitize B2B processes at scale – speed, costs, and productivity. Companies doing business in India have a tremendous opportunity to leverage AI across the B2B process flows right from purchase order (PO) to payments and reconciliation. Today a lot of these processes are manual – hence in-efficient both from a cost and time perspective, e-invoicing is a great first step by the Government of India. This will enable AI led digitization of invoice acceptance and reconciliation processes for buyers. The next step is to enable tracking payments. If payment data becomes available, AI can help track key metrics, such as Days Payments Outstanding (DPO) and Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) across receivables and payables and start providing actionable insights for companies and the economy as a whole. This will also help address the key issue for MSMEs– getting paid on time, besides enabling digital lending through cash flow, payment, and invoice data.”

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Amit Gupta, CEO & Founder at Rapyder 

“The unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic has; without doubt; adversely impacted world economy at large. Almost every industry has borne the brunt and MSMEs are severely affected with many closing down, probably permanently. However, IT & ITeS sector has seen spike in growth across some industry verticals in the wake of the pandemic. Sectors such as EdTech, FinTech, HealthTech, HRTech, amongst others, have seen significant boosts. This will continue to fuel growth of Cloud-Tech, AI-based and other new-age technologies across business domains. Knowing well that MSMEs are biggest growth drivers to the economy and the second largest sector after agriculture, Government should extend credit facilities for them and provide means for new-age technology adoption. Rigid regulatory compliance and tax burdens should be revised, which can provide impetus for growth and expansion. This will increase hiring and businesses can largely contribute to the GDP. Revised tax policies, less complex GST structure and relevant policies that provide thrust for digital innovation can incentivize home-grown start-ups and brands. Such a solution can help MSMEs to operate in a more level-playing field which has MNCs and other established players."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Pronam Chatterjee CEO, BluePi Consulting Pvt. Ltd

"Retail industry came to a virtual standstill during the pandemic and was one of the worst-hit sectors. The cascading effects impacted the entire value chain that serves the industry. The festive season has shown signs of recovery with major retailers recuperating to around 90% of pre-covid sales. But the recovery is still nascent and not strong enough to carry on without support. A few things that we expect from the budget are measures to improve the disposable income in the short term, by reducing the tax burden and thereby spurring demand. The supply side of the value chain also needs to be supported by easing retailers' access to capital. Ease of doing business and access to capital should be the focus area for the retail sector in this budget. MSME does not cover the retail trading that constitutes a bulk of retailers; if they are not manufacturing. On the other hand, the garment manufacturers are considered MSME, but without a special package that assists them with working capital, they would also be left high and dry. So we expect the government to broaden the MSME umbrella and announce special packaged for retailers under MSME so that they can tide over these challenging times."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Raghunandan Saraf, Founder & CEO, Saraf Furniture

"This Budget 2021 is highly-anticipated as it is going be tabled at the time when Modi government is leaving no stone unturned to revive the Indian economy amid spread of Covid-19 pandemic. Modi government by means its Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Vocal For Local campaigns has already given a clear message about an unprecedented push to ambitious Made-In-India items. Saraf as India's solid wood furniture and proudly Made-In-India brand expects Modi government to come up with more Vocal For Local kind of initiatives so that Indian items could find more concrete mentions on the world platforms by means of exports as well. Also, we are pinning big hopes on the Budget 2021 in terms of boost for startups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) since in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic it has now been realised by one and all that small businesses are the backbone of Indian economy. We expect some big development on MSME and startup front from this important Budget 2021."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE:  Himanshu Sikka, Lead - Health, Nutrition & WASH, IPE Global

"COVID-19 has tested out health systems like never before. While we have emerged victorious on many fronts, the overall battle has exposed our weaknesses and lack of readiness to counter health emergencies of similar nature. It took a couple of months of lock-down, to help the nation stand on its feet and brave the fight.

What could have been different, or what we can change for the future? The budget 2021 gives the government a unique opportunity to redefine the country's health sector landscape. Overall, the atmosphere has improved with lowering of the number of new cases, deaths and complications in the last two months, COVID-19 vaccination getting started and generally the economy seemingly coming back on track. 

Given this, the government in the upcoming budget needs to focus on following fronts where we lacked during the pandemic:
1. Increase the ambit of Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY: India still has very low penetrations of health insurance. As a result, OOP expenses in healthcare in India is about 62% which is significantly higher than the global average of 18%. This got further exposed during the pandemic where the people, in general, faced high medical bills' wrath in the absence of insurance coverage. The government needs to make necessary budgetary provisions to enable increased insurance coverage and penetration of AB PM-JAY. PM-JAY could also cover all taxpayers, thus acting as an incentive and essential safeguard for those contributing to nation-building.
2. Support Innovation Adoption and Scale-up: The pandemic showed the robustness of India's private sector which was quick to respond and up its manufacturing capacity for necessary drugs and other medical supplies, testing kits, PPEs, masks, etc. The government in the budget needs to make special provisions to ensure that this momentum is not lost. Innovative financing mechanisms, including easy availability for low-collateral debt for infrastructure expansion and working capital requirements, need to be encouraged. The government could look at unique credit lines, a dedicated grant fund for start-ups and innovators, or support financial structures that enable blended finance solutions in healthcare space.
3. Take the opportunity of COVID-19 vaccine to establish long-lasting supply chain infrastructure: The government needs to ensure that the vaccination drive is not seen as a one-time exercise but a chance to develop infrastructure to serve the nation and its immunization targets in coming decades.
4. Focus on Skill Development in Healthcare Space: Skilled workforce in healthcare ecosystem remains a crucial gap. With new pandemics, products and technologies, continuous learning and skill enhancement of the healthcare professionals is the need of the hour. The government should provide incentives to private players who can contribute in this space and help in the development of training infrastructure for hands-on training, knowledge and skills enhancement. This needs to be at all levels from medical colleges to nursing schools and paramedic training centres."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Muneer Ahmad, AV Head, ViewSonic India

"We believe that the 2021 budget will be extremely important to rebuild the economy. The Government should review the income tax slabs for individuals in a way that allows them to increase spending and investments. Also, the MSME/Start-up sectors should be given incentives via schemes and rebates that allow them to grow with ease of doing business. To improve demand and give more scope of work to the suppliers in the electronics industry, the government should consider relaxation of import duty and also review GST on non-luxury products such as projectors which are on 28% GST slab.” 

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Anuj Bhatia, Founder of DealsDray

"To revive the decelerating economy the Government should introduce specific incentives for start-ups to participate in PLI Scheme or similar initiatives to contribute to the objective of “Atmanirbhar” Bharat. With many start-ups trying to change the landscape of “Bharat” which is predominantly rural, the Government should introduce incentives to boost the logistics sector as last mile connectivity is still a big challenge.”

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Sachin Kharbanda, Managing Director, Lakshita 

"Indian retail was one of the adversely affected industries due to COVID 19 and as part of the retail industry, we have high hopes from the 2021 Budget. We are expecting that the government takes some steps which would focus on improving the disposable income of the consumers. Also, there should be a reduction in the GST rates on readymade garments that are in the range of  Rs. 1,000-2,000 per piece to 5% from 12%, which has been a long-pending expectation in our industry. The government should also focus on taking measures to improve infrastructure and remove disruptions in the supply chain which would help us reach out to Tier II, III, and IV cities efficiently. We are also expecting a reduction in the income tax which will be beneficial for the taxpayers as it would reduce a burden on them which will further increase the sales in the retail market. We are also of the view that the soon the government rolls out the vaccination, the sooner will people start to walk in the retail stores which would further give us a boost."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Ravi Singhal, Vice-Chairman, GCL Securities Limited

"As Modi government has risen to the occasion to curb the spread of pandemic for the strengthening and revival of the India economy, we expect many big announcements from Hon'ble Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in this Budget 2021. It goes without saying that Income Tax is one of the most important aspects of Budget, hence some relief for the common man is what we look forward to. Also, we expect crude to come under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) umbrella. In addition to all this, reduction in entertainment tax, incentives to give a boost for setting up manufacturing hubs and push for infrastructure spending will also be key areas to watch out for. Keeping above expectations in mind, we recommend, Voltas and Havells as most benefited owing to the possibility of income tax reduction and boost for the creation of manufacturing hubs. Further, BPCL is also a most benefited from our side due to 'crude may come under GST' expectation from Budget 2021. Moreover, BPCL's stake sale candidature is also one of the reasons behind most benefited recommendation. Also, Bharti Airtel, SUN TV are most benefited from our end due to Covid-19 campaign and advertisements on TV channels by the government with an aim to educate people and spread pandemic-related awareness. Tata Power can be considered from reaping additional returns due to relief measures and incentives announced by the Modi government for the renewable energy sector. Siemens and L&T should be considered as most benefited due to infra related sops and a further boost from the Modi government for the creation of manufacturing hubs. Furthermore, with an aim to boost automobile demand by phasing out old, polluting vehicles, the highly-awaited scrappage policy is also expected from this important Budget 2021. Hence, keeping in view the same, we recommend most benefit for Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Maruti and Shriram Transport."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Ashutosh Verma, Founder, Exalta

"We are expecting a lot from the Union Budget  2021 as it might be a possible answer for various issues that we are currently facing especially post the COVID crisis. We as EV manufacturers are expecting changes in policies, reduction in GST slabs, and simplified finances from the first budget of the year 2021 post-COVID-19. The preset taxes and GST slabs have increased the cost of manufacturing, because of which owning an EV is a slow process. The government has extended great support like the FAME subsidy, National Electric Mobility Mission plan 2020, and various other initiatives for the adaption of EV. We are also expecting a reduction in raw material GST which is currently 28% and the tax on outward supplies is 5% currently which leads to an implicit inverted duty structure for the manufacturers. This move will help in cash flow optimization. The government should also allocate a special budget to set up the EV charging stations for the convenience of the common man, as it is a major deciding factor for people to make a shift toward EV. Also, the government should support when it comes to messaging for the use of EV among the common masses to grow more and more awareness for use of EV."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Pankaj Kumar Jain, Director, KW Group

The Government showed great support during 2020 and the pandemic. We hope in 2021, the Government continues to extend its support to the industry. Liquidity flow has become essential for the sector to continue to survive and not depend on financial institutions. This also allows buyers to invest and increase trust within the market, especially in the commercial property space. Giving infrastructure status to the real estate industry will give a boost to ongoing projects, and also, make it a priority at financial institutions for lending. We sincerely hope that the Input Tax Credit (ITC) is reintroduced and is reduced from 5 per cent to 1 until 2022. It will be a big help for speeding up ongoing projects and sales on commercial properties.

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Kamayani Naresh, Founder, Zyropathy

"Corona has made the entire world realize the importance of a strong and proper healthcare system.  As a part of the alternative medicine system, we are hoping high from this year’s budget. On the GST front, we hope the government will reduce GST on supplements to a maximum of 6 % and GST on Ayurvedic products should be made nil as our country needs a lot of support to develop Ayurveda and alternative medicine systems. The ancient knowledge of Ayurveda needs to be amalgamated with new scientific formulas and techniques available which is not possible without the government's support.  The GST returns should be simplified for the smaller industries whose turnover is less than 5cr. It should be a maximum of 3 to 4 returns In a year as it is very difficult for us to maintain a finance department dedicatedly for this purpose. The income Tax procedure must be streamlined and simplified. Presently for companies that are filing profits of more than 8%, there is no tax audit but for less than 8% there is a tax audit which is a very cumbersome procedure to maintain. I think this percentage should be brought down to 2 to 2.5 % and under 44 AD up to 5Cr. There should not be any tax audit. Compliances by the company must be reduced drastically because they have increased manifold in the last 3 years. Sustainability is the biggest issue for us right now as we have direct competition with the world leaders in this field. We need to ensure quality and the cost at the same time, if we do not focus on quality then we tend to lose and will be out of the business. We need government support and the expenditure made in R&D should be nontaxable and given 100%  exemptions. Corona has already devastated all the medicine system apart from the Vaccines the government is promoting. We need government support for our survival so that we can serve the people in the best possible way. Zyropathy is a new health system where we repair the human body and organs by using combinations of supplements and Zyro naturals. We have been working in this field for the last 20 years. We have developed a full system of health wherein we repair every part of the human body without any side effects. Supplements are no more a luxury but it has become a necessity because most of the ailments are due to deficiency of one or more elements."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Annuj Goel, Managing Director, Goel Ganga Developments

"In the wake of rising construction costs, the government should consider a reduction in taxes on raw materials used in the real estate sector because these are the essential building blocks of the realty domain. Also, the real estate sector expects the government to reduce stamp duty and GST as well." "Further, we expect an increase in deduction limit under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act in the interest of homebuyers. Also, tax benefit should be given on the interest component of the home loan paid on under-construction properties. As of now, this holds valid only for ready-to-move-in properties." "In addition to all these expectations, we want the government to come up with more policies for real estate sector as this government has a huge focus on making India a self-reliant nation with its Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Vocal For Local like campaigns."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Anurag Rai, Founder, CEO,  BuildWorx

"Despite the COVID 19 situation, the industries in our country especially MSME and startups have gained momentum through innovations by overcoming all the challenges. With the first budget of 2021 coming we are expecting government support to help the startup ecosystem accelerate including MSME’s which are one of the biggest contributors to the Indian Economy. The government should come up with policies that inspire them to focus on profitability and sustainability for themselves without riding the investment and valuation bubble. The government needs to encourage entrepreneurship because it is one of the best ways for job generation and economic progress. The startup-friendly policies should be simplified to register and there should be a relaxation in the taxation policies and simplified GST returns as well. We are expecting a provision for a collateral-free loan and further remove roadblocks for foreign investments."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Anuj Mundra, Chairman & Managing Director of Nandani Creation Limited

1. INVERTED DUTY STRUCTURE:  
Refund should be provided on all Input Services i.e. both on the amount of Cash Ledger as well as Credit Ledger.
Basically our Company is engaged in the Textile Business on the E commerce Platform and is providing the services. We are selling the finished goods like Kurtis, Kurtas, Palazzos, Suit Sets and similar readymade garments under the category of 5% and 12% GST rate. And majorly all our inputs are also of the category of 5% and 12%.
Our sale through the Online Ecommerce portal attracts commission. This commission being a taxable supply attracts GST at the rate of 18% and is classified as input service for us.
Such commission is a substantial cost for our business and on top of it the GST rate of 18% is being levied on the same which is way higher than the GST rate of 5% that is levied on our finished product.
Because of this GST rate difference we always end up in accumulating the GST input @ 18% that has been charged by the Online Portals on the commission fees for selling through the E-commerce portal.
Circular No-79/53/2018- GST dated 31st December, 2018, Section 54(3) and Section 2(59) of the CGST Act the following prevails:
1. Inputs do not include Input services or Capital Goods.
2. Clearly, the intent of Law is to not allow refund of tax paid on input services or capital goods as part of refund of unutilized input tax credit accumulated on account of Inverted Duty Structure.
Hence we want the amendment in this point of Inverted Duty Structure.
(Meaning of Inverted Duty Structure- This Refers to a situation where the rate of tax on inputs purchased is more than the rate of tax on outward supplies. For e.g. Rate of input supply is 12% and rate of output supply is 5%.
Refund in case of Inverted Duty Structure under GST- A registered person may claim a refund of unutilized ITC on account of Inverted Duty structure at the end of any tax period where the credit has accumulated on account of rate of tax on inputs being higher than the rate of tax on output supplies.)

2. Flat GST % on Fabric Purchase and Sale: 
 The % of GST Charged on the Fabric purchase and sale should be streamlined to a single GST rate only. As of Now GST Rate on Fabric is both 5% and 12% respectively.
3. CGTMSE Scheme: 
The Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprise is currently providing the Limit upto 2 Crore only to the MSME Units. It should be amended so that the maximum benefits can be taken by the MSME Units in order to streamline their businesses. 
This should be amended as follows:
Upto 10 Crore or 20% of the Net Sales (Whichever is Less)
4. PROMOTION OF MAKE IN INDIA ITEM: 
 If Make & Made in India is to be promoted then duty or excise on import should be reduced by 50% on raw material and should be increased on ready to use finished goods which can be exported, in short resulting in the promotion of Make in India product.

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Saurabh Khandelwal, Owner at Dhanvi Diamonds

"Expecting a relief package from the government budget for Small and Medium Business. Due to COVID 19, most affected units are medium and small enterprises because large-scale businesses still survive but it is a survival battle for medium players and small-size enterprises. I hope the government will take the necessary steps for them in the budget and also hoping a relaxation in the GST policies as the previous GST compliances have increased the income tax and other tax regime many folds. In the last few years, the tax regime has got more complex as the compliances in the monthly returns have increased. I am of the view that the taxation system should be simpler so that it is easy for a common man to understand. The policymakers should make simpler things because simple compliance makes a more effective system which is required as per the new age and new time."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Lokendra Ranawat, Co-Founder & CEO, WoodenStreet

“In the budget 2021 ,the major focus will be on providing relief to the stress caused by the COVID-19 & on encouraging the growth of domestic organizations (to give further support to the Make in India initiative). Sectors such as automobile, IT, finance, & aviation will be in the major focus. 
2020 was the year of start-ups, which even during such times showed an exemplary growth while bringing in investments of more than $11 Billion. So, in budget 2021, some more steps can be expected to further push the growth in the coming years. In addition to this, new corporate tax reforms can also be expected to provide further relief to the Covid hit sectors.”
"Undoubtedly, the real estate sector plays a pivotal role in the growth of the India economy. In fact, realty domain is like more or less an engine to the entire economic machinery, and many allied sectors and industries like cement, steel, building/construction material, paint, consumer durables which directly or indirectly witness an impact due to developments in the realty sector. Hence, with a boost, the real estate sector is sure to have a positive impact on the associated sectors and industries as well. Moreover, if given the right push, employment generation will also see a substantial rise."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Rohan Gupta, MD, Gargee Designers

"The purpose of the budget should be to improve the living standards of people. It should award access to healthcare, education, and jobs for all sections of society. The pre and post effects of lockdown badly affected the retail fashion industry and have led to the loss of jobs both, skilled and unskilled. The overall slowdown in the economy has impacted the disposable income, directly impacting the industry. Because of this, millions of jobs have been affected, and the retail industry has taken the strongest blow in its history.We are hopeful that the Government will introduce the National Retail policy and allow retailers to register as Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). It will help in the credit accumulation, and consequently blocking working capital. Easing up liquidity for giving the business a boost is critical for retail stores to manage their investments and output in the long run." 

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Shalini Trehan, Co-founder, Recode

"Our industry is one of the highly impacted industries in this pandemic. The lockdown has brought in a slowdown like never before, and the Union Budget is our only hope. We expect the GST rates to be reduced to encourage people to spend more so retailers and e-commerce businesses can benefit. A boost in sales and market trust is a great contributor to regaining profits for a retail and e-commerce business. The government can make reforms so money lands in the hands of consumers, in return,  stimulating demand and consumption. Liquidity for businesses and less credit accumulation also allows businesses to have more liquidity. It helps in faster recovery of losses and further growth. The economic slowdown can only be recovered from if jobs are created and retail businesses are given the necessary support."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Abhay Dogra, MD, Mansar Herbals

"Budget 2021 is the perfect time for the Central government to focus on Ayurvedic medicine as the Covid pandemic has made everyone aware of the importance of natural immunity. It has become imperative that some separate budget is assigned to the manufacture, procurement and marketing of Ayurvedic Medicine. With an aim to promote new drug discovery in Ayurveda, first-class research facilities are needed to be set up and the government should spend more on research and development in Ayurveda. We are  hoping that the Government will provide funds for ayurvedic doctors, practitioners, and scholars to back research and new drug discovery. The government should boost Ayurvedic medicines in line with the Atma Nirbhar Bharat vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In our view, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) should be waived off for products having the license to be sold as Ayurvedic Medicine."

Budget 2021 Expectations LIVE: Saumya Kabra, Founder, Confetti Gifts

"Gifting in recent times has taken a more evolved meaning. The concept has a deeper meaning which goes beyond thoughtfulness. We are born to epitomise those emotions through products and packaging that says more than words can. The Union Budget can help us support this ecosystem by considering GST reduction, to allow more money in the hands of consumers and allow startups to encourage purchase. The Government has the tools to stimulate economic growth. These tools will help meet the demand and consumption levels of the market. We hope that they consider a smooth registration process for businesses to register as MSMEs and benefit from it. The Government can also support in reducing the TD for e-commerce businesses. It allows the company to create a steady cashflow to keep their business afloat."