1) Group Satellite
“Disappointing budget from the perspective of private sector involvement in creating mass housing stock that will make homeownership a reality for all Indians. Budget has unfortunately ignored the stressed and vilified real estate sector that is in desperate need of Government support through specific targeted tax breaks that help make building affordable homes in India viable.” - By Mr. Sarjan Shah, MD, Group Satellite
2) Pacific India Group
“The budget this year is a boost to ‘Make in India’ initiatives and aimed at a progressive development of the rural economy and growth of the entire country. The focus on infrastructure, social inclusion and progress, education, agriculture and healthcare are steps in the right direction. Though there is not much in terms of addressing the problems faced by the realty sector but the move towards no adjustment in case of the circle rate not exceeding 5 % of sale consideration is a welcome move. Standard deduction for transport, medical reimbursement for salaried taxpayers and incentives for Senior citizens will help increase disposable income at hand.” – by Mr Abhishek Bansal, Executive Director of Pacific India Group
3) Post budget quote by Mr Prashant Solomon, Managing Director, Chintels India and Hon. Treasurer, CREDAI NCR and Convenor of CREDAI National (Media and PR Committee)
“The budget has several incentives for the rural sector, women etc but I would have liked the benefits of tax reduction to be wide spread with more income tax rebates for middle and salaried classes in order to increase disposable income and boost spending power that will help the economy and our sector grow in the long run. Though there are no major incentives for the growth of real estate industry the re-introduction of LTCG will help in growth of other investment avenues. Concessions in the budget towards the affordable housing sector and the setting up of an Affordable Housing Fund under the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojna, will help the realty sector ancillaries grow. Though most of the recommendations that we had made on behalf of the real estate industry have not been addressed, the move towards no adjustment to be made in a case where the circle rate value does not exceed 5% of the consideration is a welcome move”.
“The budget has several incentives for the rural sector, women etc but I would have liked the benefits of tax reduction to be wide spread with more income tax rebates for middle and salaried classes in order to increase disposable income and boost spending power that will help the economy and our sector grow in the long run. Though there are no major incentives for the growth of real estate industry the re-introduction of LTCG will help in growth of other investment avenues. Concessions in the budget towards the affordable housing sector and the setting up of an Affordable Housing Fund under the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojna, will help the realty sector ancillaries grow. Though most of the recommendations that we had made on behalf of the real estate industry have not been addressed, the move towards no adjustment to be made in a case where the circle rate value does not exceed 5% of the consideration is a welcome move”.
Education sector
“The overall measures have a strong impetus towards social inclusion and economic growth. The budgetary allocation of 1 lakh crore towards higher education and research is a welcome move. In terms of development of cities, the budget gives an added fillip to the smart cities mission and urbanisation along with the proposal to develop 10 prominent tourist destinations as iconic tourism destinations.
This is where the proposal to open 18 new schools of planning and architecture in order to to generate skilled designers and architects will create the necessary impetus and awareness towards the importance of design in every aspect of education be it urban planning, architecture, management or engineering. The need for sustainable environment friendly urbanisation and preservation of the fabric of an old city syncing it with modern growth can be addressed aggressively with the right education and awareness. The Smart Cities programme is progressing well and with continued budgetary support, these cities will greatly benefit from a new ecosystem of infrastructure leveraged with modern digital solutions and new age technologies like Artificial Intelligence, digital manufacturing, big data intelligence, quantum communications and art of the things”.
Finance Sector
Mr Ranjeet S Mudholkar, Vice Chairman and CEO, Financial Planning Standards Board India (FPSB)
This Budget balances populism with pragmatism and, on a holistic basis, is good from Financial Planning perspective for long-term investing. There are slight benefits for salaried class taxpayers by way of Standard Deduction in lieu of Transport and Medical reimbursements. There are also incentives for senior citizens in exemption of interest income and exemption under Section 80D towards health insurance. The reintroduction of 10% long term capital gains on stocks exceeding Rs. 1 lakh gains might initially dampen spirits, however the provision of grandfathering of gains as of 31st January, 2018 for equity purchases up to six months prior will soothe this impact. The period of grandfathering may be extended until 31st March, 2018 to enable effective cash management and tax planning.
Entrepreneur
Ruby Sinha, Founder, sheatwork.com- a one stop knowledge hub for women entrepreneurs
Union Budget 2018 perfectly blends reforms and populism with a keen eye on fiscal discipline. FM Arun Jaitley makes a strong push for digitisation, infrastructure development and better quality of education. The move to integrate technology into education is a step in the right direction. The government’s initiative to provide 5 lakh WiFi hotspots in rural areas will allow more grassroot level internet-run businesses to come up. Measures announced for Small and Medium Enterprises will help budding enterprises and help them contribute to the growth in consumer-oriented sectors. Also, the initiative to increase loans to women self-help groups by 37% is welcome. However, there is a lot more that remains to be done to improve the state of women entrepreneurship in the country - like extended tax holidays so women are motivated to look beyond mere jobs and become entrepreneurs, leading to growth of the economy.