Guess who was left high & dry in this Budget

By Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD, BioconAs expected, the government has preferred to be populist in its budget announcements, choosing to focus on farmers, informal sector workers and the middle class.Boost to farm economyGiven the widespread farm distress, it was expected that the budget will have something substantial to offer to the agricultural sector. While the measures announced — such as an assured income scheme, timely credit for cultivation and higher allocation for rural development — are welcome, the budget did not have anything in it to push agri technologies that enable transparent price discovery and help farmers increase crop yields.Push to digital economyThe budget had some positive announcements to help accelerate India’s transition to a robust digital economy. Over the next five years, it aims to create 1 lakh Digital Villages. It proposed that the tax department would process all I-T returns within 24 hours and issue refunds simultaneously. Going forward, all verification and assessment of income tax returns selected for scrutiny would be done electronically without any personal interface between taxpayers and tax officers. This is a progressive step as it will ensure privacy and objectivity, and make the department more assessee friendly.Social net for informal sectorThe proposal for pension to workers in India’s vast informal sector — Rs 3,000 per month from the age of 60 — is welcome as it will provide a social security net for nearly 10 crore Indians.Tax boost for middle classThe budget sought to woo the middle class by offering a full income tax rebate for up to Rs5 lakh and hiking the standard deduction to Rs50,000 from Rs40,000. Higher disposable income thanks to these measures is expected to boost urban demand, which augurs well for overall economic revival.No new incentives for startupsWhile the budget did not have any new incentives to strengthen the startup ecosystem, the announcement of a national programme on artificial intelligence is a welcome move. It was disappointing to see that the sector did not receive any relief, such as a 10-year tax holiday for angel investors. While there were no specific measures to boost employment generation, it announced that the allocation for the national rural employment guarantee scheme would go up to Rs 60,000 crore.Healthcare, science & tech ignoredIt was disappointing to see the absence of any additional allocation for healthcare or incentives for science and technology. It also failed to announce GST exemption on cancer drugs — an urgent need given the huge disease burden that India faces.Fiscal discipline maintainedThe government did well to balance the populist tone of the budget by signalling its commitment to stick to fiscal discipline. Overall, it was a budget that tried to address various stakeholder groups in the run up to the elections, without unveiling any big idea.

from Economic Times http://bit.ly/2G57Vd0