Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday, February 1, is going to present the Union Budget 2022-23, which is the last full Budget before the country goes for general polls in 2024. Sitharaman’s Budget Speech, which is going to be her fifth one, will be keenly watched even as individuals and various sectors expect favourable measures. Here are Budget expectations from various sectors:
Fintech Sector
In the Budget 2023, the fintech industry expects the government to introduce regulatory changes that would create an easy line of access for start-ups and MSMEs to secure credit from online lending players.
Also Read: Here Are 5 Expected Income Tax Announcements In Budget 2023
Brijesh Samantaray, co-founder of Propelld, said, “Fintech is no longer considered a trend. The industry has now become one of the fastest-growing segments in technology and transformed the way how financial services are fostered. The Budget 2023 is expected to ease financial burden for start-ups in fintech industry. The government should implement policies that would promote collaboration between banks and loan providers to assist customers in getting loans in an accessible manner whether for personal or business purposes.”
He added that the government should introduce regulatory changes that would create an easy line of access for start-ups & MSMEs to secure credit from online lending players.
Sumit Chhazed, CEO and co-founder of digital commerce platform and two-wheeler financer OTO, said, “Fintech startups remain optimistic about the Budget 2023 with the hope that it will further accelerate the growth trajectory of the fintech industry through the reduction of the financial burden on startups by giving clarity on existing regulatory compliances also ensuring a smooth process for licences and approval, initiatives enabling digital payments and investments in AI and machine learning.”
Real Estate Sector
The real estate sector expects increasing the tax rebate on home mortgage interest from Rs 2 lakh to at least Rs 3 lakh, and a separate deductions for principal repayments.
Pradeep Aggarwal, Founder & Chairman, Signature Global (India), said, “The government should put aside more funds under the stress fund SWAMIH. Policies should be relaxed, or scope of policy should be widened so that stuck projects can be completed. Subsidy under the credit-linked subsidy scheme (CLSS) has been a big saving and motivation and should be continued to achieve the ‘Housing for All’ mission.”
Atul Banshal, director (finance) of Omaxe, said, “The Budget 2023 should consider reducing stamp duty as that will assist it in resuming a robust real estate market and complete housing for all missions for the Central Government. The government must consider increasing the tax rebate on home mortgage interest from Rs 2 lakh to at least Rs 3 lakh. It is also necessary to have separate deductions for principal repayments, which are currently included under Section 80C. It should also be raised from the current limit of Rs 1.5 lakhs to Rs 3 lakhs. Currently, there are no regulations governing brokerage fees; neither the buyer nor the developer is required to pay the required commission on each transaction.”
Startup Expectations
Startups, which have seen financial stress in the year 2022 and layoffs, expect the government to continue support packages, which are already in place, for another year to support the new-age businesses.
Ratish Pandey, founder of Ethique Advisory, said, “For the startups, the winters came in early. The equity funding dried up, forcing startups to look at cutting costs, to extend their runway… The slew of supporting packages introduced by the government to help startups post-Covid recovery should continue.”
Nishant Behl, founder and CEO of Expand My Business, said, “India is poised to become a $25-trillion economy in the next 25 years, and startups will be significant contributors to this growth. However, this will certainly require greater support from the government through newer provisions and policies in the upcoming budget.”
Clean Energy Sector
The renewable energy sector expects PLI scheme to include MSMEs and a significant reduction in the interest rates for the industry.
Gautam Mohanka, managing director of Gautam Solar, said, “The renewable energy sector stays optimistic ahead of the Budget 2023, with loads of expectations to become the driver of the country’s sustainable economic growth. We are looking forward to the PLI scheme to include the MSME sector , solar manufacturing in India will receive further boost for the same. In the Union Budget this year, we also look forward to a significant reduction in the interest rates for the industry.”
Ankit Mittal, co-founder & CEO of Sheru, said, “The clean energy sector hopes to see policies and incentives from Budget 2023 that drive forward the energy transition. We think three moves could help that – Moving subsidies from residential electricity prices towards solar rooftops. This would help in reducing overall electricity use, speed up the rollout of solar energy, while resulting in lower bills for consumers.”
Individuals’ Expectations
Individuals expect income tax relaxation in the Budget 2023. There is an expectation that the government might give relief to individual taxpayers by raising tax exemption or rebate limits. There are also demands of raising the deductions limit under Section 80C in the Union Budget 2023-23, compared with Rs 1.5 lakh currently.
E-Commerce Expectations
The e-commerce sector expects the Budget 2023 to focus on infrastructure to enable lower logistics costs and quicker movement of goods, apart from taxation benefits.
Nicky Sidhwani, vice-president of O2O marketplace Coutloot, said, “GST registration is mandatory for selling your products online. This creates a barrier for small store owners to participate on e-commerce platforms and restricts their sales. The cost of movement of goods needs to be brought down. Currently, it’s higher in India compared to other countries.”
Sidhwani added that the Budget 2023 should further focus on infrastructure to enable lower logistics costs and quicker movement of goods. Government schemes and awards should be extended to accelerate innovations. Further taxation benefits should be provided to investors to allow faster and easier access to capital.
Chirag Taneja, co-founder and CEO of e-commerce enabler Gokwik, said, “Retail startups, especially in the early stage, are grappling with maintaining their working capital as a runway for sustainability and growth in the face of limited availability of dry powder. They face high competition.
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