Food and fertiliser subsidies that help two-thirds of India’s 1.4 billion people will also be scaled back, according to the survey.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has more than doubled capital spending since fiscal 2019/20 in a bid to make India a more attractive destination for global manufacturing. But private investment has lagged New Delhi’s lead for about a decade.
Now, that robust pace of government investment is set to slow to barely half its previous rate in the fiscal year to March 2024, according to the Jan. 13-20 Reuters poll of 39 economists.
Capex is set to increase in fiscal 2023/24 by about 17% to 8.85 trillion Indian rupees ($109 billion), from an estimated 7.50 trillion rupees in the current fiscal year, itself up roughly 35% on a year before.
“The government has shown an express motivation to ramp up capex, and the expected absence of a robust recovery in private capex will make public capex particularly important in FY24,” noted Sonal Varma, chief economist for India and Asia ex-Japan at Nomura.
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“The National Education Policy promotes the use of technology in teaching and learning. The direction and guidance of the Ministry of Education, as per the policy, is to promote multimodal learning so that high quality resources are made available to all students, irrespective of location or background. This can be enabled by increasing the penetration of digital infrastructure in schools and educational institutions. Digital tools and content in smart classrooms are key to enriching students’ learning
– Sumeet Mehta, Cofounder & CEO, LEAD
Budget 2023 Live Updates: Punjab MP urges Sitharaman to save spinning mill industry
He has written to Finance Minister regarding imposing of Anti-Dumping Duty (ADD) on Polyester Spun Yarn (PSY) originating in or imported into the country from ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries Indonesia and Vietnam.
In a letter addressed to the Sitharaman, Arora said, “Through various forums and platforms, I have been receiving appeals to impose anti-dumping duty on import of polyester spun yarn (PSY) under ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as this will provide a level playing field for Indian manufacturers.”
He further said that it is concerning because PSY import by India has increased by 943 per cent during the past five years, and imports from Vietnam alone have increased by 88 times.
Even though expenditure for FY23 will likely surpass the budgeted numbers, the math will be under control due to the buoyancy in tax collections
– Amar Ambani, Group President and Head, Institutional Equities, YES SECURITIES
In the upcoming Budget 2023, the real estate sector seeks a reduction in GST rates applied to construction materials (cement and steel, mainly). Owing to curtailed input tax credit in this sector, high rate of GST on materials increases project cost and proves inflationary. Reduced GST rate on inputs will help control construction (project) costs and thereby have a beneficial impact for the sector as also Indian economy.
– Ranjeet Mahtani, Partner, Dhruva Advisors
New Delhi to tap brakes on capex growth, key subsidies
Food and fertiliser subsidies that help two-thirds of India’s 1.4 billion people will also be scaled back, according to the survey.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has more than doubled capital spending since fiscal 2019/20 in a bid to make India a more attractive destination for global manufacturing. But private investment has lagged New Delhi’s lead for about a decade.
Now, that robust pace of government investment is set to slow to barely half its previous rate in the fiscal year to March 2024, according to the Jan. 13-20 Reuters poll of 39 economists.
Centre set to borrow record Rs 16 lakh crore in fiscal 2023/24
The federal government’s gross indebtedness has more than doubled in the past four years as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has spent heavily to cushion the economy from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide relief to the poor.
President’s address to be held in existing Parliament building
“The New Parliament Building is still under construction. During Budget Session, the Hon’ble President will address Members of two Houses in the existing Parliament House Building,” the Lok Sabha Speaker said in a tweet.
The Budget Session of Parliament is likely to begin on January 31 and is expected to conclude on April 6 with a recess in between.
The session will start with an address by the President to the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in the Central Hall of Parliament.
This will be the first address to the two Houses of Parliament by President Murmu since her elevation to the top post in July last year.
Travel and tourism industry seeks government assistance in Budget
Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder and Group CEO of MakeMyTrip said that the Indian travel and tourism industry has shown great resilience, domestic leisure travel has recovered well past pre-pandemic levels, though the long-haul international travel still lags.
At this crucial juncture, the industry needs support from the government to ensure that it continues to be the one of the foremost employers in the country.
“With India’s focus on becoming a digital economy, the disparity between offline and online bookings should be done away with to motivate all travellers to embrace digital India at the grass-root level. Currently, the customer pays a 5 per cent GST charge when booking a non-AC bus through an online platform. This charge is zero for an offline booking. The disparity is similar in the case of an online booking of unregistered hotels and homestay,” he said.
HR industry expects roll out of labour codes, focus on formal job creation in Budget 2023
The Indian economy is on the road to recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic significantly affected the country’s economic growth. Industry players are hoping that the ensuing budget will provide a much-needed boost to the HR sector that will help the industry to get back on track.
According to leading HR services provider Randstad India, the broad industry asks for the HR sector is the roll out of labour codes, focus on formal job creation, industry Status for Staffing Industry and enhancing skilling initiatives for the youth.
All government vehicles older than 15 years to be scrapped, deregistered, says road transport ministry
The rule shall not apply to the special purpose vehicles (armoured and other specialised vehicles) used for operational purposes for the defence of the country and for the maintenance of law and order and internal security, the notification said.
“Disposal of such vehicles shall, after the expiry of the fifteen years from the date of initial registration of the vehicle, (should) be ensured through the Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility set up in accordance with the Motor Vehicles (Registration and Functions of Vehicle Scrapping Facility) Rules, 2021,” it said.
Budget 2023 Live Updates: “Union budget should create roadmap for sustainable growth in logistics sector”
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Union Budget 2023-24 in the Lok Sabha on February 1.
FedEx Express Senior Vice-President Middle East Indian Subcontinent and Africa (MEISA) Operations Kami Viswanathan in a statement said, “We recommend the implementation of zero rating of Goods and Services Tax for all international transportation services.
“Most of the international GST/VAT legislations ‘zero-rate’ international freight transportation services. This would facilitate trade and align India with international tax practices as well as reduce logistics costs.”
Budget 2023 Live Updates: Ficci seeks increase in import duty of aluminium, aluminium products
The present import duty on aluminium and aluminium products is 10 per cent. Aluminium, a resilient metal that retains its fundamental properties even when recycled, is widely utilised.
However, in recent years, there has been a visible surge in subpar aluminium imports, especially from China which constitutes over 85 per cent of downstream aluminium imports at present, Ficci said in a statement.
Moreover, India is also seeing aluminium imports from the US, the UK, Malaysia and the Middle East. Several of these nations support their domestic industries with concessions and benefits, including low interest loans and cheaper power tariffs.
Budget 2023 Live Updates: International Road Federation seeks removal of GST on helmets
At present a GST of 18 per cent is levied on helmets.
“IRF…in a letter written to the Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has demanded reduction of GST on life saving device helmets for safety of the two-wheeler riders from present 18 per cent to 0 per cent in the forthcoming Union Budget 2023-24,” the global road safety body said.
India accounts for about 11 per cent of the road accident deaths worldwide and the two-wheeler riders, being most vulnerable, constitute almost 31.4 per cent of road accidental deaths primarily due to head injuries.
Budget 2023 Live Updates: Steel industry seeks anti-predatory measures against imports
Amid this scenario, Indian steel makers have sought suo moto safeguard in terms of import duty of up to 25 per cent on ad-valorem basis, in the forthcoming union budget.
In a representation to the finance ministry, the domestic steel makers have also sought reinstatement of anti-dumping measures on HR coil, sheets and plates as well as colour coated and wire rods.
