Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s fourth budget address on Tuesday morning which is touted to be her shortest speech in 4 years, garnered praise from eminent personalities from all walks of life and was especially hailed for its rare mention of mental health amid the ongoing pandemic.
Joining the bandwagon was also President of USIBC ( and U.S. Ambassador (retd.), Atul Keshap who congratulated the Finance Minister and the Government of India on today’s Union Budget announcement. Lauding the budget speech, Atul Keshap said that the initiatives undertaken show India’s continued commitment to enhancing productivity, creating jobs, and capitalizing on nine percent projected growth to integrate into global value chains. He also praised how the budget embraces efficient tools and vital outcomes like increasing the use of digital technology, mobilizing private capital, and climate-sensitive development.
“The budget embraces digital technologies to advance key goals like financial access, quality health care, enhanced educational and skilling opportunities, and higher agricultural output. The Government can only maximize returns from these initiatives if it creates a level playing field for competition among firms who supply key inputs, be they digital payment providers or life sciences companies,” the former Ambassador said.
The President also took into account the announcement of a 35 percent increase in capital expenditure and the commitment to a rapid rollout and supportive ecosystem for 5G technology which he said will be effective once these are translated into accelerated infrastructure development on the ground that speeds up travel, lowers logistics costs and broadens digital access by attracting private investment.
“Under this budget, private investment will continue to be a key driver of growth. Efforts to ease doing business like reducing the time to set up a business, eliminating thousands of compliance requirements, and making land management more efficient will help achieve this objective. The acknowledgment of the role that venture capital and private equity play in flowing quality investment into new enterprises and job growth is critical, as is the commitment to enhance the ecosystem for these firms’ operations. The Government can make prompt progress in this area by finalizing the framework for the direct overseas listing of Indian companies and making the scope of investments subject to Press Note 3 more clear and assessments time-bound. More also can be done to reduce discriminatory tax and regulatory frameworks in areas like banking and insurance and promote more efficient tax administration and dispute resolution processes,” Keshap added.
Atul Keshap also commented on the govt’s decision to a 12 percent increase in the capital budget expenditure for defense saying that it will help support India’s border security and Indo-Pacific ambitions. He however pointed out that increasing targets for indigenization of production may slow India’s access to the equipment it needs to safeguard its security. Hence making India a more friendly manufacturing environment for international defense companies will be critical if they are to supply India’s defense needs in a prompt and efficient manner.
Read all the Latest India News here
Comments
0 comment