............ Have a nice day............

Thursday 10 July 2014

Union Budget 2014-15: The Pros and Cons

The most awaited day has finally come with the presentation of the budget by FM Arun Jaitley. The proposed gift for businesses, the load bearer for common man, a weapon against corruption, a tool to revive a dying economy and a better economic life for the people of India was the expectation of budget 2014. The budget has answered some prayers, shunned out others and has rout outrage from various political camps.
Mehul Lanvers Shah, Managing Director, HMFI India said, “The new government’s budget bodes well for Indian Industry as it encourages local manufacturing, entrepreneurship and transparent governance to create an investor friendly, stable tax regime with retrospective decisions scrutinized by a high level committee.” The budget surely has touched to benefit all the areas of life.

A nation wide perspective has been taken into account with the effort to develop better NHs for which Rs.37,887 crores has been set aside and separately Rs.3000 crores has been assigned for the development of roads in the north east region particularly.




The government is committed to providing 24/7 power supply. It has also proposed and assigned Rs.7060 crores for the development of small smart cities. “Urbanization and development of urban infrastructure through smart cities has also found significant mention and over Rs.7000 crore is being allocated for the development of 100 smart cities across the country - this is a huge opportunity for the Indian IT industry to partner with the government in this initiative,” said Mehul Lanvers Shah, Managing Director, HMFI India 



For the development of wind energy a sum of Rs.500 crore is allotted to Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. These are just a few of the eye catching improvements that can be expected.

The government has moved forward in support of sports and plans to build a sports university in Manipur and will spend 100 crore in this venture. Jammu and Kashmir are in for a favor with the new budget as the state will have a remake for both indoor and outdoor stadiums with a proposed amount of Rs.200 crores. The government will also set up a great number of sports academies across the country. This will encourage sports among the younger generation.

International businesses will breathe easy while also move quickly towards indulging in the Indian market, as the government has open the doors for the flow of FDI from the usual 26 percent to 49 percent for the next fiscal year in the defense department. The defense department has the highest allotment of Rs.229000 crores.

The increase in the defense budget is not at all needed when India has been a country that has stood for non violence. This sector already has the highest flow of monetary fund that comes form the pockets of the Indian common people. The FDI inflow may have increased but the chunk of the money is still from tax payers. 


In an extensive measure to revive agriculture and also help poor farmers, the budget has provided various measures and schemes. Rs.5000 crores for short time rural credit refinance fund. For the increased growth in blue revolution for inland fishery and indigenous cattle breeding 50 crore has been assigned.

The state governments are encouraged to develop farming markets. The government will also look to provide 5 lakh landless farmers through NABARD. Labs to help test soil for healthier agricultural needs will be set up. To promote agriculture, the government has also proposed to set up agriculture universities in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, and Horticulture universities in Haryana and Telagana, a sum of Rs.200 crore is set aside.

Technology and IT sectors have the complete support of the government and as Mehul Lanvers Shah, Managing Director, HMFI India, “the IT industry can rejoice at a budget that banks on technology intervention for development.” The financial minister has given start-up funds of Rs.10000 crores where younger entrepreneurs can expect allocation of Rs.200 crores. There are programs for the start up of village entrepreneurship and incubation. This is just a start for a technology driven economy.

Transportation will be made easy and feasible with the improvement given for railway sector through the introduction of high speed trains and also proposed initiations for more airports in various states. Sajid Khan, Country Manager-India, South African Airways said, “Plans to develop more airports through the PPP model, especially in Tier II and III cities will also open new avenues of growth for the aviation sector,” in response to the governments proposed ideas for better transport. 


A great blessing to footwear lovers is that the there will be a reduction in price as excise duty has been reduced from 12 percent to 6 percent. There will be no import duty for LED panel below 19 inches. Food products will also be cheaper as the excise duty has been reduced from 10 percent to 6 percent. This will be welcomed by all the foodies who just cannot find time to eat at home. Soap and oil products will be cheaper.

The government has made education a priority as they will set up five IIMs and IITs colleges. Maharashtra, West Bengal, UP and AP will have AIIMS colleges set up. There is also a proposal to start 12 new government medical colleges. The government will spend Rs.100 crores in upgrading old madarsas. In a new awakening an amount of Rs.100 crores will be spent on Technology Development Fund Scheme for the education of girl child.

The debatable aspect of the budget is the plan to erect a S.V. Patel’s statue in Gujarat for an expansive amount of  Rs.200 crores. This is unnecessary as certain sectors that really require the money are given a cheaper allotment. The plan to build more IIMs and IIT colleges is also questionable as the number of students opting for IIT has reduced incredibly. There is no need for extra colleges that are not going to be student’s choice. This venture will just be seen as a waste of money.

These are some of the highlights of the maiden budget presented by Arun Jaitley, the Finance Minister. The Modi government will be judged according to the fulfillment of the budget, which in most economists eyes seems to be a good move. There are some disputes but the industrial and business world have welcomed the budget with open arms. There is growth opportunity for everyone. It is also good to note that the government has not forgotten to protect the local small industry markets by the kind of schemes that have been open for them.



No comments:

Post a Comment