The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will take centre stage today to announce the Interim Budget for 2024-25. The final budget will be announced after the formation of the new government post the General Elections. And this time, all eyes will be on her as Captains of Industry express mixed expectations from continuing the focus on infrastructure to new policy measures and some even express no news being good news.
The Indian automotive industry is one of the significant contributors to the country’s GDP and the focus on infrastructure creation has further aided the development and people movement across the country.
Furthermore, the government has proactively introduced various schemes to not only make the country a manufacturing hub, but also design, develop, and create for the world. The China + 1 strategy for most manufacturing companies has only further made India an attractive part, given the capabilities of India Auto Inc.
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the apex body representing the automakers in the country, is just hoping that there are no sudden “surprises, shockers or norms”, that could impact the dream run of the industry.
The component industry on the other hand has acknowledged the potential of PLI (Production-Linked Incentive) scheme and is hoping that the government’s focus on making India an electric vehicle production and adoption hub is further given an impetus to the continuation of the FAME Scheme.
Rationalisation of GST (Goods & Services Tax) on certain products and components for instance lithium-ion batteries from 18% to 5% is also something that many industry stakeholders have urged the government to look at.
Furthermore, as part of the ‘Make in India’ call the government has encouraged companies across the spectrum to look at manufacturing more value-added goods in the country. In the automotive industry, which is an CAPEX heavy segment, industry stakeholders are hoping that the Finance Minister also provides some incentives for R&D and a circular economy.