The upcoming Union Budget is anticipated to place a strong emphasis on manufacturing, affordable housing, green mobility and comprehensive infrastructure development in addition to increasing demand for consumption, according to a study published by Assocham and Primus.
“While the Budget would attend to the immediate requirements of boosting consumption, investment and augmenting the supply side of the economy, it is also expected to lay a roadmap for the bigger goal of scaling up national income to a level of developed nations,” said Assocham President Sanjay Nayar.
The document outlined areas that would demand the government’s greater focus and priorities for attaining the national goals, emphasising that the first Budget of the Narendra Modi 3.0 government will also feature a long-term vision for making India a developed nation by 2047. Nayar further said the government has the fiscal space to spend on capex but recycling the funds from monetisable operating assets would be strategically a better strategy to manage it even better.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Tuesday in Parliament.
As per the Assocham-Primus study, green fuel will increasingly power India’s economy. The change in direction is accelerating at several levels. It also anticipates the introduction of PMAY 2.0, which will include elements like Beneficiary Led Construction (BLC) and Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) to customise housing options to the financial capacity of significant portions of the populace.
“India Inc is expecting a major thrust in the forthcoming Budget on consumer demand, especially among the middle-class people, while reforms-friendly policies will continue more vigorously with several investment-oriented and Ease of Doing Business measures,” Assocham Secretary General Deepak Sood stated.
In order to lower post-harvest losses and guarantee greater price realisation for farmers, the report also emphasised the necessity of a national agriculture infrastructure mission with an emphasis on enhancing logistics including cold storage, processing facilities and packaging facilities.
Nilaya Varma, co-founder and CEO, Primus Partners said to achieve the vision of Viksit Bharat, the government needs to prioritise and enable a shift from agriculture to manufacturing to provide a pathway for employment. “Support for core engineering-led manufacturing (that would provide jobs), supporting clusters for strengthening MSMEs and supporting or creating new clusters like EV, electronics and aircraft manufacturing is critical. This needs to be done while advancing towards net-zero energy,” he said.
Moreover, the study suggests that promoting climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture will assist India achieve its goal of net-zero emissions by 2070 and serve as a roadmap for decarbonisation in agriculture over the next ten years.
(with inputs from PTI)