Mr. Mohit Ralhan, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer, TIW Private Equity
"This is an extremely balanced budget given that the economy is just emerging out from a contraction and the risk of pandemic is still around. The government has relied on increasing government spending to boost the economy and therefore the fiscal deficit for FY22 has been pegged at 6.8% of GDP. More than doubling of the allocation to Healthcare expenditure was quite necessary to better fight the pandemic and we also saw a 34% increase in capital expenditure with a sharp focus on rail and road to boost the industrial output. There are also quite a few measures that will have a long-term positive impact on the Indian economy including formation of asset reconstruction company, measures to combat air pollution, divestment of public sector banks, increase in FDI limit to 74% in Insurance, promotion of digital payments and increasing tax transparency through digitization. Overall, the closely monitored budget rightly targets the areas to accelerate economic recovery without increasing any undue tax burden."
Mr. Niraj Kumar, Chief Investment Officer, Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited
"The imperativeness of the Life Insurance sector in the economy has gained paramount importance in the aftermath of Covid and has reinforced the need for wider penetration of insurance in terms of protection and building a safety net. Budget 2022 has indeed taken cognizance of this and has taken the bold step of increasing the FDI limit to 74% from the incumbent 49% which will provide an immediate backstop in terms of capital for growth and improve the insurance penetration and financial inclusion in the economy. Also increasing insurance penetration would pave the way for generating employment opportunities, which in turn would augment the efforts of the government to revive the economy".
Mr. Raghvendra Nath, Managing Director, Ladderup Wealth Management
"The Union Budget presented by the honorable finance minister was a novel one highlighting the essential problems faced by the economy and addressing them on the right lines. The country required a much-needed boost in the infra space which was duly provided for in this budget. The significant increase in allocation for the same is a reflection of the same and benefits of the same should trickle down the economy effectively. The easing of compliance norms should help both businesses and individuals function smoothly and reduce the compliance burden. The privatization of two public sector banks and the stake sale of LIC should help the government meet the disinvestment target and reduce the fiscal constraints. The status quo on direct taxes should alleviate the tax burden on the HNIs. Overall it should pave the way for India's growth going forward".
Mr. Waqar Naqvi, CEO of Taurus Mutual Fund
"While one needs to wait for the fine print yet one can say that broadly the markets will be happy with the budget given the overall direction of the budget indicated by government's decision to:
- Decision to privatize two PSU Banks and one Insurance Co. - Create an ARC and AMC to manage stressed assets - this can be build upon in the years to come into a bigger entity. - No increase in direct and indirect taxes. - Allowing FDI upto 74% in Insurance Companies.
Perhaps the high fiscal deficit of FY 21 due to COVID19 prevented the government from reducing the personal income tax for individual tax payers."
