These experts will share their insight on what kind of budget we can expect, what government should take care of, how the budget can impact a business, individual, student, working-class and everyone. They will be discussing on what are the key focuses of this year’s budget, how will it help the economy which is suffering from the pandemic and, how will the budget strengthen the economy.

Ankita Riva, Co-founder & COO, Zymrat

Zymrat is a D2C performance wear brand, based out of Bangalore, India, with some of the world’s most innovative products, and we are set to have one of our best years in 2022 in terms of growth. To make products which compete with brands at global level, our supply chain touch points are spread across 4 countries including India. I am hoping that for young and growing start-ups like ours, Govt brings incentives and relaxations on custom duties. Global supply chain and global transport has been hit due to the pandemic in the last 2 years, and it is already adding to the cost of manufacturing significantly and continues to add. There is a 35-40% duty that Govt levies on top of that. While this is a great idea for promoting the Make in India initiative, for certain high-end products we still have to get technology, raw materials and goods from outside. In such times a duty waiver for start-ups which are working on cutting edge technology from across the world would be a boon for all businesses. This can be limited to companies under certain annual turnover, but it is a need of the hour.

Pradeep Krishnakumar, Co-Founder and COO, Zouk

The last two years have been a roller coaster for businesses – small and large, owing to the Covid situation. Online has been a blessing in this situation – both for consumers and for business owners. In the past, online retail has faced a lot of backlashes from physical retail owners. This year I hope that all retailers adopt online as a new way of selling instead of seeing it as competition. In this regard, I am hoping the budget focuses on policies that will recognize online retail more. Personally, I await more clarity on the new eCommerce policy, that will help in this regard. And, India is a hub for handmade skilled products, across textiles, bags, footwear etc. This space overall has taken a big hit due to Covid. I hope some relief packages are offered in this budget for the sector. In terms of business and economic outlook in 2022, our government has done a phenomenal job in delivering over 100 crore vaccines. With newer variants of Covid coming, vaccination seems to be the only way economies will operate normally. Therefore, I see 2022 as the year of the resurgence in retail activity. I expect sectors like travel, hospitality to bounce back strongly. That will result in lifestyle brands like us, who sell bags, wallets and travel accessories currently getting a big boost. 2022 will set the foundation for the coming years in terms of GDP growth and I see India going back to becoming one of the fastest-growing and most exciting markets globally.

Disha Singh, Founder and CEO, Zouk

Our honorable Prime Minister kickstarted a movement last year for an Atmanirbhar Bharat. As a Proudly Indian brand, we felt great when the same message came from him. We also saw a lot of support from consumers for Vocal for Local brands like us at Zouk. I expect some budgetary boost and subsidy for brands taking Proudly Indian brands to a global market. The recent rollback of the GST rates for the textile sector was the right move. I think the government really understood the concerns of the sector and it showed great maturity in making quick amends. I am sure the government now understands the issues of the sector better and will act to help the sector further. In 2022, we will see us coming out of the shadows of CoVid and living life freely despite the pandemic. This will have a tremendously positive impact on the economy. I expect higher GDP growth rates and we will build the base to move towards consistent double-digit GDP growth rates in the coming years.

Nowshad Rizwanullah, Co-Founder & CEO at MissMalini Entertainment Pvt. Ltd

One of the few bright spots in the last two years has been the thriving startup sector, both in India and around the world. Historic levels of funding, innovation, employment and wealth creation put into sharp relief the benefits of entrepreneurship-friendly policies, whether through tax and financial incentives or the development of critical infrastructure. As digital becomes the dominant medium, policies that facilitate the rapid rollout and adoption of technologies like 5G and improved broadband penetration would be welcome. Continuing relief from the impact of COVID on both employers and employees would also help support economic recovery.

Ms. Sonali Khan, Managing Director- Sesame Workshop India

Last year, to address the Covid 19 exigencies, the education budget was reduced however, today when the country is better prepared to address the pandemic, it’s critical that we increase the allocation to the education budget and find out a way to reduce the increased inequity in access of education. While the RTE act provides free and compulsory education to children of 6 to 14 years of age, given the considerable loss of incomes of a sizable population, it would further be best to ensure the educational and health needs of children by lowering the age from 6 to 3. Aligned with Nipun Bharat, this could be the first step to initiate the ECD mission for the country.

Hamish Patel, Chief Product Officer, World of Play

On the supply side, a much-needed relief would be to waive customs duty on the import of electronic components. This will provide a boost to a growing electronics manufacturing sector and relieve stress that has built up over the last 18 months. It is important that we see a reduction in GST rates, given the component shortages we have seen the price of electronics skyrocketing. Lowering GST will make products affordable and give a boost to the electronics industry. A progressive take by the government would be to see the government providing incentives to companies with spends on research and development

Aakrit Vaish, Co-Founder & CEO, Haptik

Due to the increased push toward digitalization, the usage of AI across industries has increased remarkably. While the previous two budgets had recognized the importance of technology in shaping the new India, we now anticipate opportunities and significant government efforts to locate India as one of the world’s preferred AI attractions this year. Considering this, we hope this time too the finance minister will put special emphasis on AI and technology for future ready solutions. We at Haptik.ai are optimistic about the center’s vision for a digital strong Bharat and are looking forward to favorable measures that will boost the tech ecosystem in India.

Jesal Doshi, Deputy CEO, B Medical Systems

One of the expectations is for increased allocation in the healthcare sector – across the entire infrastructure, specifically for immunization. COVID-19 is far from over and it is vital that the country is well prepared to fight the pandemic and any future pandemics, and a reliable medical cold chain is critical for the success of any immunization program. We believe that creating a sub-industry for medical cold chain and separating it from commercial refrigeration, along with reduced GST rates could further boost the sector. The government should reduce import duties on critical components that are essential for manufacturing reliable medical cold chain units. This, along with production-linked incentives will help improve the country’s ability to access world-class medical cold chain products and also improve India’s export competitiveness in this industry.

Rajat Bansal, Founder & CEO, Proquo

India is becoming the hub of the start-ups and the ecosystem of Investors and founders is evolving quite well. With the investment cycle coming of age, lots of investors and founders are seeking exit and thus situations of Long-Term Capital gains are arising. To give some relaxation to the investors, the government had introduced Section 54 EE in The Income Tax Act couple of years back which says that an assessee can save LTCG by investing the amount in these funds up to INR 50 Lacs. The challenge is that the government has never introduced any instruments under the section where the investment can be done.

The government has a considerably huge focus on real estate and Infrastructure and still a basic commodity like Cement attracts the highest slab of GST at 28% which makes both housing and infrastructure considerably expensive as this is the basic base material that is used in the construction. It would be really great if the government can rationalize the same and bring it to 18% slab.

Shrishti Bhandari, Executive Director, Mangalam Information Technologies Pvt. Ltd. On Women Empowerment through budgeting in India story 

Women empowerment is an ongoing process and not a one-off initiative. The Union Budget lays down the roadmap for the entire fiscal year. It is crucial to increase allocation to women-related schemes. Moreover, the government should take steps to ensure the creation of more job opportunities for women. Hence, the Budget should prioritize appropriate skilling and training programs for women, grant certain incentives to women-led start-ups and strengthen access to mentoring and incubator networks. At the same time, it is essential to sensitize people on the significance of women empowerment by supporting Information, Education and Communication efforts.

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