Budget 2019 Highlights: It has been a budget speech by FM Nirmala Sitharaman that has laid out the roadmap and announced measures to tackle several aspects of the economy. In the Direct and Indirect taxes proposals announced by her in the second part of her speech, she announced that corporate tax rate of 25% would be extended to companies that now have a turnover of upto Rs 400 crore. FM Sitharaman proposed a further thrust to Make in India and the setting up of an initiative to set up to facilitate setting up of mega plants in areas such semiconductors, laptops, solar products etc. In order encourage purchase of electric vehicles, a tax deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh was announced for those purchasing these automobiles. Lower GST on these vehicles was also proposed. The government announced a disinvestment target of over Rs 1 lakh crore and said that will continue to pursue strategic disinvestment of Air India and other PSEs. It also expressed willingness to go below 51% in non- financial PSEs. The government reiterated its intention to invest Rs 100 lakh crore in infrastructure and said an expert committee will be set up. A singly monthly return for GST was also introduced. Customs duties were altered on a number of items.
In addition to the proposals she announced earlier in her speech, the Narendra Modi government has announced its vision on several economic and social fronts. Measures have been announced for financial markets with the idea of attracting more capital – she has proposed to increase public shareholding in listed companies, improve KYC norms for FPIs, get retail investors into the government treasury bills market and provide for more foreign participation in insurance intermediaries, media, aviation and animation. She has also announced her intention to get more NRI investment into India.
Announcing key measures for common man, she reiterated the government’s promise to give power to all rural families by 2022. For the common man, gold could expensive. She said even farmers need to have ease of doing business and ease of living. Budget 2019 live streaming speech sought to replicate the success of the pulses production programme to oilseeds, another key import for India currently. Solid waste management and comprehensive water management at a local level were key points. On education, she coined the slogan of ‘Study in India’, promising to make India a hub for education and get foreign students into India. A new TV channel for startups and reform of labour laws is also on the agenda as per the speech of Budget 2019 live streamed from Lok Sabha.
Next-gen world-class trains! Indian Railways eyes private investment for new train sets. Click here to read more
Budget had nothing to offer to any section of the society, ignoring even critical sectors like Defence & making no allocation for the historic 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh (ANI)
In a significant development, import of Defence Equipment not manufactured in India exempted from Basic Customs Duty. It’ll have an impact of augmenting the Defence Budget by Rs 25,000 crores on account of savings in expenditure on Customs Duty over the next 5 year: Rajnath Singh Defence Minister (ANI)
While the finance minister claimed that we have reduced NPAs by Rs 1 lakh crore, she should have also said that in the same period banks have written off Rs 5,55,603 crore, why didn’t she say that, I don’t know: Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram (ANI)
Revenue gain of Rs 12,000 crore is expected through surcharge hike on taxable income above Rs 2 crore. Mandatory filing of ITR is an anti-abuse clause: CBDT Pramod Chandra Mody to CNBC TV18
We’ve strongly welcomed it. Not only because some of our ideas and suggestions have been incorporated by Finance Minister, but also because it’s a budget that focuses on sharpening growth, promoting private investments in the country: Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar (ANI)
Former finance minister P Chidambaram on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman keeping budget documents in four fold red cloth instead of a briefcase: Take it from me, our Congress’ finance minister will in future bring an iPad. (ANI)
This Union Budget is not only pro-working class, but also pro-development and growth. Tax exemption of upto INR 5 lakhs is a huge benefit. Increased FDI in key sectors like aviation will help boost the sector. Rationalisation of multiple labour laws and making India hub for the manufacturing of electric vehicles is a positive step. Development of 17 iconic sites to be transformed in world class destinations will help boost foreign tourist arrivals. However, industry demand of free visas for five years and competitive GST rate has not been met. The Indian travel and tourism sector which has emerged as a key growth driver and is one of the biggest employment generators didn’t see any concrete provisions in this Union Budget: Vijay Dewan, MD, Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels & Chairman, CII, West Bengal State Council
Exploitative taxation is unacceptable. I don’t have the numbers. The language of the Finance Minister’s speech is not clear regarding the effective tax rate. We articulate the disappointment of the common man: P. Chidambaram
The government’s move to lower the GST on Electric Vehicles has opened new avenues for the industry. Reducing the GST on EVs from 12 per cent to 5 per cent can be seen as a big step in favor of sales of EV cars in India. The deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on the loan interest to purchase an electric vehicle in India will not just benefit the industry but also for consumers who are looking to switch to electric vehicles. There is pool of the companies emerging in this space to evolve the entire ecosystem and the opportunities created by government will enable these companies to penetrate fast. Moreover with the liquidity gap being addressed in this budget, the industry will even move forward towards economy’s growth: Debajit Roy, Country Director, QAD India
Budget 2019 has created an enabling environment for travel start-ups. We are glad that the Finance Minister has spoken about the importance of India’s tourism sector. With government developing 17 iconic tourism sites to improve the flow of domestic and foreign tourists and allocating Rs. 1.05 lakh crore budget for the same, the Indian Tourism Industry is bound to grow exponentially. Also, a new channel proposed for start-ups to disseminate information in the industry will provide platform to companies like us to better understand the opportunities and gaps in the industry: Mohit Poddar, CEO & Co-founder, Shoes on Loose
The Union Budget 2019 is aimed at strengthening the fundamentals i.e. India’s rural infrastructure, connectivity, education, skilling, electric mobility and the economy at large. The Government of India put forth multiple initiatives to kick-start the growth of MSMEs and start-ups in the country and also outlined various changes in custom duties, which we believe will boost India’s economic growth: Manish Sharma, President and CEO, Panasonic India and South Asia
It’s a nice budget for startups but it’s mostly incremental and not revolutionary. Government is furthering its resolve to save startups from the draconian angel tax and IT scrutiny but has still stopped short of scrapping the Angel Tax altogether. Extending the period of exemption of Capital Gains from Real Estate for startup investment is a big positive that should boost slugging angel investment. Apart from that, the government’s resolve to simplify the labour laws is a positive but it still remains to be seen how much it is simplified. For healthcare, Ayushman Bharat still continues to be the biggest opportunity. Its reach and scope are expanding and that will drive the healthcare industry for a long time to come: Pawan Gupta, Co-Founder, Curofy
Union budget has created a supportive ecosystem for startups as they are planning to make a channel where startups will be promoted, they can discuss their problems and also the Venture Capital Investor will get a platform for investment. We are really encouraged that the digital track taken by the govt. is surely matching the 3 trillion view. Also other measures announced such as ease of angel tax will make it easy for investors to invest in startups: Vikram Kumar, CEO – Letstrack
It’s a budget for all. It has addressed issues which will make ‘ease of living’ for the poor, the middle class. It has ensured large scale infrastructure development which have made life & living easy for 130 crore Indians, rich or poor. It has given a huge thrust to startup, job creation, Make in India. It has given pension to the traders, large part of the community that was left out of the social security network. It’s very reform-oriented. So it’s a budget for 130 crore Indians: Piyush Goyal, Railway Minister (ANI)
The two main announcements for the start-up industry were relief from angel tax and a dedicated TV channel. Any start-up providing adequate declarations will not be subject to any angel tax. Further, an electronic mechanism will for verification be built. Investments through Alternative Investment Funds Category II will also not be subject to IT scrutiny on start-up valuations. This announcement is very welcome and will help build investor confidence by bringing policy certainty. This will drive investments into start-ups which will further lead to GDP growth, job creation, wealth creation and above all innovation. Another step to exempt tax capital gains from property sales invested in start-ups will further help bring in more investment. A dedicated TV channel that would discuss issues of start-ups, promote them and have investor interface would be started. The channel will be started by start-ups. This is a unique idea and will provide a medium for start-ups to be heard. While there may not be immediate returns to start-ups through this channel, over the long term as the content and participants increase in numbers and quality, the channel could emerge as the leading voice of start-ups: Sameer Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, RevFin
The Government’s vision of building a $5 trillion economy by 2024 and $3 trillion by the end of this year, encourages positive sentiment. The aim of making Indian economy more investor friendly, improving infrastructure and increasing impetus on developing industry relevant talents are all encouraging developments. India is the 2nd largest fish and seafood exporter in the world. The country’s 7000km long coastline and diverse produce, contributes significantly to our Forex reserves. The Government’s initiative for developing fisheries management network is truly a long-term vision. This coupled with the schemes supporting agro-rural entrepreneurship will help upgrade the ecosystem. Indian consumers should get better quality fish & meat products; which is a strong imperative for our business. The tax rebate announced has a positive impact on disposable income, which in turn reflects directly on the grocery basket of the common man. In a developing economy like ours more disposable income leads to consumption of protein-rich and better quality food. This will go a long way in addressing nutrition deficiency and build a healthier India. It also augers well Government’s decision of increased spend on food security. The impetus on digital payments is encouraging for the entire cashless ecosystem. As a digital native platform, we welcome the move: Vivek Gupta, Co-Founder, Licious
Our track record is that we’ve performed on every single budget for last 5 years. Congress made promises that no one was willing to buy, because they were just “sheikh chilli ki kahani”, dreams in the air that nobody trusted. I think people’s verdict is out. I can only say that Congress seems to be rudderless, leaderless & helpless: Piyush Goyal on Congress’ criticism of Budget 2019 (ANI)
Finance Minister has been very benign to the Railways. She has laid out a vision of investment of nearly 50 lakh crore over the next 10 years. I would really like to thank Finance Minister for strengthening the resolve of the Railways: Railway Minister Piyush Goyal
Union Budget 2019 is very path breaking. It’s a very comprehensive budget. We’re particularly delighted as Finance Min has acknowledged role of Niti. But more important is the road map that she has set for laying down a vision for $5 trillion economy: Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant
This was a budget with many differences. On the positive side, there was more focus on strategic initiatives, such as no charges on fund transfers, tax deduction on loans for EVs, interchangeability of Aadhar and PAN and the various measures on easier KYC. Added to this, the proposed 4 codes to cover all labour laws is extremely positive. These initiatives will have a catalytic effect in not just achieving the specific objectives but also, a larger spiral of increased compliance and economic extension. On the flip side, there hasn’t been adequate emphasis on fiscal discipline, and the approach of a sharp increase in tax rates for the rich as the only revenue enhancement measure is unimaginative to say the least. I am also disappointed that the corporate tax rate has not been reduced across the board: Abhishek Goenka, CEO & CFO at CoWrks
“Does the govt want another 1962-type debacle before it can raise the present budget to like it did in the past, when the defence budget before the 1962 war was just 1.64% and was hiked to 3.7% of GDP wafter 1962 war?” To read full report, click here
While petrol and diesel, cigarettes, hookah and chewing tobacco and Gold and silver have become costlier, Electric vehicle components, camera module and charger of mobile phones are cheaper now. Read the full list here
Training support for supporting advanced technical jobs in the space of AI, IoT is a welcome move. We welcome the government’s vision to train 10 million in industry-relevant skills like AI, IoT, and Big Data because these industries will be a much larger industry for India in the next 3-5 years as compared to what we have seen in IT over last 2 decades. Startups will have an integral role to play towards this growth, so trained resources availability shall help India gain the next leap in the future: Rashi Gupta, Chief Data Scientist & Co-founder, Rezo.AI
Rs. 3,18,931.22 Cr. has been allocated for the financial year 2019-20 for the Defence Budget. Rs. 2,10,682.42 Cr. for Revenue expenditure and Rs. 1,08,248.80 Crore for Capital expenditure for modernisation of armed forces. Government allocates Rs 1,12,079.57 crore for defence pensions. Along with the defence budget, the total defence allocation comes to around Rs. 431,010.79 crore and accounts for 15.47 % of the total Central Government expenditure for coming fiscal. (ANI)
Budget 2019 has clearly spoken from a position of strength; India is still the fastest growing economy; we have come up with proposals with which we are confident of our movement towards growth: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
Incentivizing investment in sunrise sectors, enhancing skill development programmes and policies under Make in India are all geared to promote job creation: Nirmala Sitharaman
The budget looks to be a Truly Digital one in nature and strong steps are seen for the upcoming fiscal year. From new channels to be started under the Doordarshan bouquet to provide a platform for startups to disseminate information in the industry to Bharat Net which is targeting internet connectivity in local bodies in every panchayat in the country are all welcome steps. Also, training of 10 million in industry-relevant skills like AI, IoT, and Big Data will help address the severe skill-shortage of technology and IT. We are really optimistic that the digital path taken by the government is surely matching the $3 Trillion vision: Ashutosh Harbola, CEO & Co-founder, Buzzoka
Presenting the Union Budget India 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced reduction in securities and transaction tax (STT) but market analysts are not very bullish about it. To know why, read Ashish Pandey’s report, CLICK HERE
This budget is dedicated to the poor people of the country, to the Dalits, to the farmers, to the youth and women of the country. It represents all sections of society. I really congratulate the finance minister: JP Nadda, BJP Working President (ANI)
Startups in the technology industry can take clues out of the various topics touched upon in this budget, to understand the direction and focus. The vision of the government to train 10 million industry-relevant skills such as Artifical Intelligence, Big Data, and IoT opens up great avenues for companies & start-ups like us in the space, as well as for those working on building digital infrastructure of a connected India. Besides, other measures announced such as ease of angel tax will make it smoother for investors to put in their money in startups: Neel Juriasingani, CEO & Co-founder, Datacultr
Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to make PAN and Aadhaar interchangeable in her Budget speech. It will allow people who do not have a PAN card to file income tax returns. Read full report by Sunil Dhawan, click here
The Budget’s emphasis was clearly on the overall development of the Indian economy. We have provided rural initiatives, all of which will provide certain dynamic to the rural areas. Similarly, we looked at how urban living can be better. Non Banking Financial Companies(NBFC) are a critical component of our banking system. The Government has adopted a comprehensive approach for NBFC financing: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
BSP supremo Mayawati criticized the Union Budget and said that it has nothing for Dalits and backward classes, and will only help super-rich. Read complete report on Mayawati’s statement on Union Budget, click here
While Nirmala Sitharaman gave a big boost to Electric Vehicles, she announced additional excise duty on petrol and diesel rendering them more costly for the buyers. Read full report on petrol duty hike by Ashish Pandey, click here
The budget has been presented with a 10-year vision in mind. The startups are being given a whole set of tax benefits. The emphasis was very clearly on the overall development of economy. We looked at rural initiatives, all of which will give certain dynamic to the rural areas. Similarly, we looked at how urban living can be better: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (ANI)
It was manifesto rather than a Union Budget. Rs 70,000 cr to bail out bank defaulters but Zero assistance and Zero recognition for farmers facing a severe agri crisis? DD Kisan never helped farmers , it was playing movies. Now we have a DD Startup. The Budget speech had no reference to allocation. Because in such details their insincerity would be highlighted. Rhetoric always triumphs in their scheme of things. More than Gandhipedia we need Gandhian policies that will ensure the defeat of the ideaology of his assassins: Congress Leader Ahmed Patel tweets
The issue identifying of investor and his funds’ source will be resolved by putting in place a mechanism of verification so that there is no man-to-man interface there: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
Read full report by Sandeep Soni, click here