Ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget, the last by the NDA government before the general elections, there are huge expectations among all sections of the society. Reduction in personal income tax rate, access to cheaper consumer and housing loans and government interventions to provide relief to middle classes top the wish list of people waiting for the central budget.
“For too long, the salaried and middle classes have been ignored. The successive budgets did precious little for these sections, though the BJP counts on their support in the elections,” said B Srinivasa Rao, an official in the state irrigation department.
There is an overwhelming demand for increasing the savings limit for senior citizens.
A fair increase in the states’ share in the central tax pool is uppermost among the expectations from the Union Budget as far as the sibling Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are concerned.
“We want the Centre to come forward and set up more industrial clusters in the state. Several promises made at the time of the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh remain unfulfilled to date. We expect the Centre to focus on this,” said Telangana IT minister D Sridhar Babu.
Both Telangana and AP want the Centre’s share in infrastructure development to be increased substantially. Additional funds for the revival of the Visakhapatnam steel plant, the establishment of tribal universities and AIIMS hospitals, premier educational institutes, and the allocation of additional funds under the weaker section housing scheme are among the expectations of the AP government. Setting up an agricultural research institute in AP on the lines of the Indian Institute of Millets Research in Hyderabad is another pending demand.
Both states want the urban infrastructure development fund to be increased substantially for Tier-II and Tier-III cities, more incentives for start-ups and increased allocation for development of rural roads.
The hospitality industry, which has a major presence in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, and other cities in the Telugu states, is expecting a more lenient tax structure and an increased allocation of funds in the upcoming Union Budget. The hoteliers believe that this move will give a boost to the tourism industry in the country.
“Operational costs in hotels are a big challenge for us. As costs rise, people's spending power will decrease because of inflation,” said a hotelier in Hyderabad. The hospitality industry was the worst-hit sector during the Covid-19 pandemic and 2023 was a good comeback year but still, it could not cover the losses.
The healthcare and pharma sectors, which too have a big presence in Hyderabad, are abuzz with expectations over the interim union budget.
From boosting research and development (R&D) expenditure to strengthening infrastructure and bridging the accessibility gap, industry leaders have laid out a comprehensive wish list for the government.
India is already the third-largest producer of pharmaceuticals by volume and has a strong track record of generic drug manufacturing. However, the country lags in innovative drug discovery. Increased R&D investment could help India become a global leader in this area, said a representative of DR Reddy’s Laboratories.
Industry experts have been calling for the establishment of a National Mission for Advanced Manufacturing to enhance quality and productivity in manufacturing.
“The Mission should strengthen the ecosystem for building a technologically advanced manufacturing industry and accelerate the adoption of transformative technologies in the manufacturing sector. The Mission should also work towards building a digitally skilled workforce capable of keeping up with evolving technologies. It should collaborate with international institutions and companies for knowledge exchange and technology transfer," says the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in its pre-Budget 2024 note.
“We anticipate that the 2024 interim budget will adequately make NBFCs part of sustainable economic growth towards achieving the $ 5 Trillion economy milestone. We expect the emphasis on infrastructure capex to continue with a focus on logistics improvement which is essential for "Make in India" to be a big success.
Likewise, the government would do well to persist with its privatization thrust as it professionalizes the business environment. We strongly feel that the interim budget, while persisting with the thrust on infrastructure spending and privatization, should prioritize fiscal stability, MSME empowerment, and a simplified GST regime,” says Umesh Revankar, Executive Vice Chairman, of Shriram Finance.
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