Increase in the FDI limits in the insurance sector from 49% to 74 % is a welcome step by the honourable Finance Minister, and has been announced at a time when it is needed the most. This move will help make the insurance companies stronger and enable them to further expand their businesses, supplement their growing business needs, and deepen the market with new products and technology. Moreover, it would foster the growth of the insurance industry and take it to the next level by bringing in global products, practices, and sales strategies to India’s insurance market. Insurance is a very efficient form of protection for general public and it is essential that it reaches everyone in India from big cities to small villages, and this move will facilitate the inflow of capital that would be required to accomplish this.

The announcements made by the Finance Minister towards the further development of digital payments in India, as part of the Union Budget 2021 are indeed positive.  In fact, the allocation of Rs.1500 crore for digital payments is a welcome move, but it is too early to comment on the same. What we should be looking forward to is the implementation of the same. While the funds have been announced it is still unclear how these budgets allocation is going to be used for the benefit.

Finance Minister has presented a forward looking Budget that is aimed at generating investments and reigniting the growth cycle. The government’s big bet on infrastructure is bound to pay off in the long term and bring in growth for real estate and allied sectors.  Giving flexibility to REITs to raise more debt capital will attract more investment in the real estate sector and will lead to faster closure of transactions. The decision to extend tax holiday for affordable housing projects is a step in the right direction and will help realise Prime Minister’s dream of ‘Housing For All by 2022’.

I welcome the budget announced for this year by our Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The budget aims at the overall economical revival with a major thrust on infrastructure, healthcare and agriculture along with other sectors. The decision to introduce IND-SAT to invite Asian and African students to study, will make India the preferred destination for education. It will also introduce more diversity amongst the student population. Introducing FDIs in the education sector will further help ramp up this sector and help meet global standards. The young engineers getting the internship opportunity for a period of 1 year by the Urban Local Bodies of India will further build a greater industry connect for our engineering graduates. As a university that is proactively bridging the industry-academia gaps, this is a welcome change. What is also path-breaking is the government’s decision to introduce degree-level full-fledged online education programs by the top 100 institutions listed in the NIRF. This will make good quality education accessible to aspiring students especially in the rural regions of our country where there is a lack of education infrastructure. The idea of attaching medical institutes to a district hospital in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode will address the future demand for doctors and healthcare professionals in our country and also provide them with a better exposure early in their careers. This year’s budget has taken into account some of the challenges faced by the Indian education sector and presents opportunities that can be turned into strengths to make our nation Atmanirbhar, as India will have the largest working age population in the world by 2030.

The Union Budget clearly highlights the Governments continued focus to modernize the Agri sector. We welcome the announcement of additional allocation of Rs. 5,000 cr to the Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) under NABARD which now totals Rs. 10,000 cr. This is in line with the Governments vision of per drop more crop, and will help move closer to the target of micro irrigation coverage across 1 crore ha in five years, across the country. In order to improve the fund utilization, we request policymakers to remove the condition of disbursement (which is only against additional subsidy) and consider to make it available for the mandatory state share as well. The additional fund could keep the momentum up in states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka which are already in favour of the scheme, help restart in states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and bring newer states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, etc. under its gamut."

It is a historic budget making a mark of the beginning of a new India.

Government has given a clarion call to the industry with the announcement of creating global champions from India and  backing this strategy with new, "development finance institution".

Now the responsibility shifts to the industry to not only dream but dream big and stand together with the government to make the country progress from poverty to wealth over the next three decades.

The Finance Minister presented a forward-looking budget that would boost economic growth and investors’ confidence. I am particularly impressed with the resource allocations on Healthcare, Education, and Infrastructure. The fiscal deficit targets look pessimistic. The government would do better as economic activities normalize. The GST collections figures for January 2021 is a good signal. I expected excise duty cuts in petrol and diesel. The capital market has reacted positively, but the realities will unfold only tomorrow and further during the week. The focus of infra-push on election-bound states looks to be a big-promise. My rating is 7/10.

Coming in the wake of an ongoing pandemic, the Union Budget 2021-22 is a balanced and progressive Financial Bill that has done a commendable job of paying equal and adequate attention to all the key areas of development such as health and well-being, education, physical and financial capital, infrastructure, inclusive development for aspirational India, reinvigorating human capital, innovation and R&D. 

The overarching promise and the overall direction set by this visionary budget is minimum government and maximum governance.  

The Finance Minister has given a big boost to the implementation of the National Education Policy 2019 with several measures. Notable among them is the creation of an 'umbrella' structure for central higher education institutions in various cities. This will go a long way in creating standards, monitoring, and ensuring quality of pedagogy in higher education in the country. The government has demonstrated its commitment to qualitatively strengthen over 15,000 schools - as proposed in the new Education Policy.  

The long term demand for opening more Sainik Schools across the country is finally met with the proposal of setting up 100 such schools across the country. Another highly appreciable move is to allow women to work in night shifts with adequate protection. The government is all for simplifying the compliance for companies in this regard. This is going to pave the way for more participation of women in the workforce in the organized sector and, to that extent, going to serve as an incentive for girls to pursue higher education and enter the world of work after graduation, which is not the case with most of the female graduates today. 

The announcement to set up 750 Eklavya schools will no doubt speed up the mainstreaming of children from tribal communities, which is the need of the hour.  

Other measures that will go a long way in scaling up higher education in the country are setting up of the National Language Translation Mission to translate policy-related information that will be available on the internet in regional languages; regional national institutes for virology; amending the Apprenticeship Act and a central University in Leh. 

Budget 2021 is opening a new chapter in India’s education system and we welcome it wholeheartedly.

Budget 2021 is a progressive statement of intent and action that aims to both stimulate and sustain growth following an unprecedented year. The significant increase in overall allocation towards capital expenditure has been complemented with comprehensive measures to catalyse multiple levers- focus on rural, infrastructure investment, impetus to manufacturing, social welfare, entrepreneurship and digital - to enable overall holistic development.

For the automobile sector, which is a significant contributor to India’s GDP, there are multiple welcome announcements including a voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and unfit vehicles, augmenting public transport system in urban areas, continuing focus on adoption of cleaner fuels, and enhancing outlays for developing road infrastructure and expanding the Swachh Bharat Mission.

It’s certainly a growth-oriented budget which we were anticipating in the current economic environment. The government has largely focused on strengthening economic growth by increasing spending on social sectors like infrastructure, healthcare and agriculture. The 30% increase in capital expenditure over the last year further reinstates the fact.

They’ve made their intention clear by announcing bold measures like privatization of select PSU banks, monetisation of assets and a set up of asset reconstruction and management company to manage stressed assets, which we believe is structurally positive for the economy and markets. While the fiscal deficit estimates may have gone overboard than market expectations, markets would take it in its stride citing the overall economic situation and growth prospects ahead. Amid all, the markets heaved a sigh of relief as there was no announcement on any kind of additional cess for COVID-19 and no Increase in LTCG/STT/STCG taxes.

We feel these steps are in the right direction but their timely implementation would be critical to fulfilling the growth ambitions.

2020 saw an 80% increase in digital payments, especially from Tier 2 & 3 cities, and the Gov. has understandably focussed on capitalising on this momentum and incentivising the adoption of digital payments for the year ahead. I believe the 1500 Cr. incentive announced will open a plethora of opportunities for Fintechs to innovate for the new normal, leading to large scale adoption even in the smallest of towns and villages. I'm hoping the funds will be used towards developing alternatives to Zero MDR policy and initiatives towards bringing digital financial literacy in vernacular languages. These will instil trust in the system and accelerate adoption from MSMEs and entrepreneurs who are apprehensive towards moving money digitally.

Fintech in India has grown more in the last ten months than in the last two years, thanks to young Startups who’ve built tailored solutions and addressed markets never served before. And so, easing the norms around setting up of One-Person Companies (OPC), without any restrictions on paid-up capital and turnover, is a good step towards removing barriers to innovation amongst startups. Also, the 1-year extension towards capital gains exemption will provide additional tax relief for startups, enabling ease-of-doing-business in this new order and allowing small businesses to prosper.

The duty reduction is a good initiative and a support by Govt to reduce unofficial smuggling . It will help the sector to be more organized . The responsibility of SEBI to manage bullion exchange implementation will help in making the gem and jewelry sector more organized . It is a good initiative by Govt to take care of consumers ,company , and manufacturing sector , karigars as well.

Focus on setting up of Fintech Hub at Gift City, enhancing digital payments and use of AI in governance – all provide a strong platform for Digital India. Allocation of Rs 50,000 crore towards National Research Foundation will work towards boosting India’s Innovation Quotient on the global map and is a welcome move. Allocation of funds as incentives for promoting digital payments is also a step in the right direction and a significant step in ease of doing business. Lastly, increase in allocation for highways and railways will lead to employment generation and boost the economic growth of the nation.

The budget is a major step in the right direction. It outlays a strong focus on infrastructure, healthcare, capital spending, disinvestment, monetization, job creation and digitization. These measures are not only progressive and recovery-led, if implemented correctly would ease the burden on the economy and lead India towards the projected v-shaped growth and development. The budget talks about structural reforms in banking, enhancing debt financing and credit limits for businesses and asset monetization. This will lead to an increase in government spending, which, in turn will spur demand, therefore net positive for the industry. The several initiatives around job-creation, startups, reskilling, rural development and better quality of services to people are positive as a Nation cannot progress without care for the environment and inclusive all-round transformation.

Budget 2021 constructively impact the lives of common man with targeted proposals for extending social security benefits to gig economy, tax concessions on affordable housing and rental housing, simplified compliance regime for start-ups and exemption to senior citizens from tax filings.  Stability in tax regime, simplification in compliance procedures along with consolidation of laws will provide a strong foundation to the six pillars for achieving economic growth

Hon'ble FM's vision for Atmanirbhar Bharat with a budget focused on six essential pillars is commendable. The government has set an ambitious target to build infrastructure in the country and increase focus on digitisation and public investments. The proposal to exempt dividend payments on REITs and InVITs from TDS will surely boost investor sentiment thus augmenting funds for infra and real estate sectors. Initiatives to boost the Indian startup ecosystem by incentivising the setting up of One Person Companies (OPCs), announcing tax holidays and an extension in capital gains exemption are welcome steps.

The budget proposed by Finance Minister will help to boost the revival of our nation’s economy following the Covid induced Economic Fallout. With its targeted proposals for extending benefits to the women in form of policies such as Mega Investments Textiles Park, Incentivising one-person companies, Implementation of the four labour codes, dedicating 3000 crore to NATS, proposal of funds for the welfare of tea workers especially the women & children in Assam & West Bengal, It will provide a strong foundation for the female strata to rise and support in building an Atmanirbhar Bharat.

This budget reinforces the focus on the fundamentals with intent to revive the economy from the unprecedented pandemic setback of last year.  In a major way it focuses on Health, Infrastructure and further rationalization of our financial regulations, which is going to give the economy an impetus in revival and put the focus back on fundamentals. The startup community welcomes the attention given in Budget speech of the Finance Ministry and we thank for announcements regarding Tax Holidays and Capital Gain Exemptions.

The six-pack budget proposed by the Finance Minister encompasses the true spirit of sustainable and equal growth. The push for the health sector and the skilling space with tie-ups with UAE and Japan, to begin with, will go a long way. The focus on revamping the health infrastructure, the push for aggressive disinvestment with LIC’s IPOs, Tax holiday for start-up, expansion & strengthening of nameless faceless IT along with the revision of years are something to be applauded. Although tax slab revisions & further involvement of the private sector in the COVID vaccination distribution is something that could have also been looked at. Overall it was a well-balanced budget given the fiscal deficit constraints.

It’s heartening to see the focus on Education in Finance Minister’s budget speech where she rightly said youth of the country have abundant skills and it needs proper channelization. This year will be historic and motivational for our youth with events like 75th Year of Independence and Chandrayaan Mission 3. The education budget and steps announced for effective implementation of National Education Policy, increased focus on the role of technology will provide further opportunities for growth and sustained development of the sector and students. Rishi Ahuja, Klip VR Immersive Tech.

With an expansionary Budget that focuses on growth, the Finance Minister has delivered on major counts. The Budget has announced a massive infrastructure boost with huge outlay for Railways and privatizing airports. Along with this, measures that will increase consumer spending and make India more self-reliant are a step in the right direct. Fitness testing for both PVs and CVs is a positive move that will not only generate employment opportunities but also ensure a cleaner environment. Our sector has got a favorable boost in form of FM's voluntary vehicle scrappage policy announcement.

The Union Budget 2021-2022 laid major impetus on unlocking our nation’s true potential by introducing schemes such as providing financial incentives to promote digital transactions, providing incentives to one-person companies, allocating resources for the revival of the MSME sector, setting up of Central University in Leh, allotment of 3000 cr to NATS, etc. These initiatives will help to foster the Start-up Industry, MSME sector, education sector & help in the overall development of the nation. Through this budget, the Finance Minister was able to address each & every aspect of the economy

We expected a bigger change and disruptive budget, indeed the budget has Kickstarted by increasing investment in Infra, healthcare, ARC (assett management company), LIC IPO disinvestment, no change in tax structure, INR 64,180 crore to new health scheme is a big plus, with 35,000cr for covid vaccine.

The union budget has given a substantial increase to bolster the healthcare sector in India. INR 35000 cr for COVID-19 vaccine and the commitment to the pneumococcal vaccine to be rolled out nationwide to avert child deaths is a massive boost.  A well spent allocation of INR 64,000 cr under the new Atmanirbhar Swasthya Bharat Yojana scheme will show significant results thus labelling #healthyindia as an encouraging effort. And, the infrastructural push will certainly create many more skilled jobs revitalizing the overall ecosystem.

The increased investment towards Health Infrastructure and focus on a holistic approach to health is seen as a testimony of the commitment to building stronger health systems. The launch of the Atmanirbhar Swasthya Bharat Yojana with an outlay of Rs. 64,180 crores will boost the healthcare ecosystem. The investment will aid in developing capacities of healthcare systems, develop institutions for detection and cure of new and emerging diseases. This in addition to the National Health Mission, will support rural and urban health care centres. 

The all-inclusive approach through the launch of Mission Poshan 2.0 to improve nutritional outcomes and continued focus on cleanliness through Swachh Bharat Mission & potable drinking water through Urban Jal Jeevan Mission will subsequently bolster public health. The commitment to Rs. 35, 000 crores for the COVID-19 vaccination program and the promise to further provide funds if required, will accelerate the vaccination across the population. Strengthening of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) & setting up of a National Institution for One Health, Bio-Safety Level III laboratories and regional National Institutes for Virology will provide a thrust for the improvement of the healthcare sector in India, which is commendable. Overall, it is a landmark budget to help fill-up the growing needs of improved healthcare in the country.

The Union Budget 2021 has acknowledged the NBFC and cooperatives that are operating in the agricultural credit space. The government's initiative to bring in mechanisms to monitor the health of financial institutions, to set up Asset Reconstruction Company Limited and Asset Management Company and to safeguard the interest of depositors are welcome steps towards a robust banking mechanism. In addition to this, the increase in agriculture credit target, increased allocation towards MSME sector & increased focus on Migrant Workers & Labourers in the Budget is expected to be highly beneficial for NBFCs and MFIs. Better capital access, improved governance and enhanced lending mechanisms are some of the key focus areas in the budget and this will enable financial institutions to bring in transparency and accountability in the sector. Banking reforms will go a long way in addressing bad loans, capital infusion, development of FinTechs and support for NBFCs. Promotion of digital transactions & continued focus on financial inclusion are two key pillars in the Budget that will outline the financial landscape for the underserved sections in the society.

Budget FY22 lays a heavy emphasis on protecting lives and livelihood, charting out a clear roadmap for spurring structural demand. The increase in FDI limit in insurance sector is a welcome move, which will open growth opportunities for the sector. Insurance, inherently, is an upfront capital-intensive business with a long gestation period. So, this move will enable the sector to play a bigger role in capital formation and channelise that capital for long term growth. Given the patient nature of its investments, life insurance sector will also support the country’s infrastructure and consequently spur economic growth. Today’s announcement, coupled with the recent hike in FDI limit in insurance intermediaries, shows government’s clear intent to provide a gradual and holistic support to the sector.

Budget 2021-22 was significant as it was expected to revive the economy after the COVID-19 crisis. Education for All was one of the prime focal areas of the Budget and overall, the announcements made for the sector were positive.  The industry was expecting allocations on the implementation of NEP 2020 which has been met to an extent. Emphasis on strengthening the quality of education in schools will benefit students by cementing their primary education and promote growth and knowledge. Setting up of new Sainik schools and Eklavya model residential schools, especially in the remotest parts of the country will further bolster educational development. Upskilling of the youth has become extremely vital in the present scenario. Our youth are our strength and streamlining skill development for them will catalyse a better tomorrow for India. International collaboration on research and development is also a welcome move because the pandemic has made it clear that innovation is the way of the future. Setting up of the National Digital Educational Architecture (NDEAR) Development is a firm steppingstone towards a digital transformation to take the country to newer heights.  Upskilling of teachers and training under National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers for Holistic Advancement (NISTHA) will be beneficial to the students and the sector at large. Focus on holistic education, moving away from rote learning to strengthen analytical, conceptual skills of students will foster critical thinking among them which will help in their overall development and learning. It is good to see the Budget focus on the needs of the special children, especially the ones with hearing impairment through standardization of Indian Sign language across the country and development of National and State Curriculum materials for use.

We are pleased to know that the Budget is in line with our expectations. The industry is eagerly waiting to see the results of these measures in our field of work. The proposed solutions include a succinct focus on improving road and railway infrastructure; investments in National highway corridors and economic corridors will aid in the speedy movement of goods and improve turnaround time which, in the long run, will bring down logistics costs significantly.

The National Highway work planned in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam will further assist in the final goal of last-mile delivery and we are eager to see its results on our business. In the long term, all the expenditures could be assisted with the proposed introduction of the DFI which will speed up the infrastructure development in India.

Apart from this, the focus on the manufacturing sector in the budget would also help the logistics sector grow further.

While the budget carries good news for the logistics sector, we are also happy to see the Government’s efforts in propelling areas such as healthcare, infrastructure, and employment, all of which require a special focus going into 2021. With COVID-19 continuing to be a significant threat to the world, India is providing the vaccine against COVID-19 to over 100 countries across the world which is a commendable effort. With the Government also providing 35,000 crores towards the Covid-19 vaccine in 2021-22, we are sure to bid adieu to the virus sooner rather than later.

We are glad that Hon’ble finance minister, Shri Nirmala Sitharaman’s Union Budget for FY 21-22 focused on empowering the country to move forward in changing strategic and geopolitics landscapes with significant and accelerated reforms. We are certain that the new budget will help India to prepare itself for the ‘New World Order’, significantly enhance infrastructure development and job-creation.

The focus on job-creation and economic recovery is evidenced in the increase in healthcare and infrastructure spending to spur growth. Further, the government’s intent to support double digit yearly growth in manufacturing, 137% growth in health and wellness investment, additional outlay for the PLI scheme, investments in road and transport solutions, development in farming, animal husbandry and fisheries, INR 50,000 crore investment in R&D, and INR 3.5 lakh crore investment in power sector are noteworthy.

Indian Renewable energy industry and especially the Solar sector is appreciative of the Government of India’s initiatives to support green energy throughout the decade and especially during the pandemic.

Although the initiatives, especially the Atmanirbhar campaign and RBI’s support in restarting the nation and the industries has added nearly 2.1 lakh crore to aid in growth, the solar industry was looking forward for a significant boost to strengthen the ecosystem for domestic solar manufacturing. It is the key enabler to lead the country towards sustainable growth.

The Government of India has acknowledged that solar energy and renewables sector overall has huge promise for India. The Union Budget has announced 3.5 lakh crore of new investment to the power sector, INR 1000 crore investment to Solar Energy Corporation, INR 1,500 crores to Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency which will certainly give further impetus to renewable energy growth. We eagerly await the detailed plan on the phased manufacturing plan for solar cells and solar panels, announced by the Finance Minister to scale-up domestic capacity. Additionally we believe, raising duty on solar inverters from 5% to 20% and on solar lanterns from 5% to 15% to encourage domestic production will create demand and bring in revenue for further progress. The announcement of the comprehensive Hydrogen Energy mission 2022 is a welcome move to enable India’s transition to a low-carbon economy

However, the RE industry and especially the solar industry was hoping for more elaborate support from the union budget on implementation of the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) with exemption for SEZ based manufacturers, 5% Interest Subvention on term loan and working capital, upfront Central Financial Assistance of 30% on CAPEX, increase export incentive from 2% to 8% under Remission of Duties or Taxes on Export Product (RoDTEP), super deduction for R&D expenses, more access to National clean energy fund etc.

As domestic solar manufacturers, we are appreciative of the Government’s focus towards supporting solar manufacturing growth in India and hope the new phased manufacturing plan for solar cells and solar panels to embody the intent.

Post 2020, we have witnessed the role of technology taking center stage, opening new job opportunities and increasing the demand for a technically skilled workforce. The government’s decision of introducing post-education apprenticeship with an investment of over Rs.3,000 crore towards the skilling of engineering graduates, diploma holders, etc. is definitely a forward-looking proposition aligned with improving employment opportunities for students pursuing different disciplines. However, it would have been encouraging if the government had introduced a reduction on GST for online education services, with learners and teachers alike taking to online skilling programs in view of the demands of the “New Normal”. Another highlight of the Union Budget 2021 is the extension of social security benefits for gig employees. COVID-19 accelerated the growth of India’s gig economy, giving rise to a new genre of employment and employees. All the initiatives announced by the Government of India today, are signs of building a new India for the generations to follow.

With rapid digitization and online learning defining the days ahead, technology is set to be the prime job creator. The Union Budget 2021 has introduced useful propositions in line with enabling a technically skilled future workforce. The government’s investment towards a robust framework which includes the skilling and upskilling of engineering graduates, diploma holders, and an enhanced focus towards technical skilling of non-science students will aid in paving the path in creating a job-ready workforce in the “New Normal”. However, it would have been advantageous if the Government introduced amendments with regards to the GST cut from 18% to 5% for edtech products, benefitting both learners and edtech companies.

The budget’s focus to strengthen the Indian healthcare infrastructure is really welcoming as it will help us to be well-prepared to handle disease outbreaks/pandemic. This move will reduce the burden on the healthcare workers and ensure increased accessibility for receiving critical and emergency care. Initiatives to promote fitness and sanitation will help in preventing lifestyle issues and reduce the probability of disease outbreak among the rural areas. The budget has given a major thrust to the healthcare sector with increased importance in comparison to its previous years which is really appreciated. With high allocation for implementation of Covid-19 vaccines, we look forward to a smooth roll-out of the largest vaccination drive in India.

The increased allocations for healthcare will boost the country’s healthcare sector and help in generation of more jobs and availability of skilled professionals that would help in meeting the increasing demand for accessible and affordable healthcare. The budget has adequate importance to preventive healthcare which is the need of the hour.  After a difficult year for the healthcare sector, we hope that the announced measures would reduce the burden in the sector and we also look forward to working with the Govt to ensure quicker and faster administration of Covid-19 vaccines for all. The set-up of increased number of healthcare facilities will improve the healthcare network and reduce the turnaround of avoidable mortalities.

The holistic approach towards healthcare in this year’s budget is really commendable. Measures to tackle problems of air pollution and sanitation will aid in preventive healthcare and improve one’s well-being. The budget’s focus towards improving the health of the mother and a child with the Mission Poshan 2.0 scheme will create more awareness on the importance of consuming a well-balanced meal for a healthy living. We look forward to work together with the Govt in its efforts to strengthen the healthcare infrastructure among rural parts of India. This move would help in reducing the maternal and infant mortality rate as their deaths often occur as a result of inaccessibility to hospitals.

The focus of the Budget has been clearly on ensuring a sustainable revival of growth with an enhanced focused on capital expenditure. Towards this objective, the government has budgeted for a higher fiscal deficit target of 6.8%of GDP for the coming financial year. Revenue buoyancy assumption of 1.15 shows a relatively conservative assumption and the divestment target has been pegged at Rs 1.75 trillion. At the same time, the budget has made efforts to shift the NSSF borrowings of FCI into the budget, which fairly reflects the actual fiscal numbers. Some of the other significant takeaways include the policy announcement to privatize 2 PSU banks and the setting up of asset reconstruction company to takeover and manage stressed assets from banks.

Debt sustainability within the Indian context as enunciated in the Economic survey depends predominantly on sustaining a higher growth rate. Towards this , the focus on growth revival through a larger fiscal outlay can't be faulted. However, this definitely complicates the RBI task of managing the government borrowing program. Given the context of the expected normalization of liquidity, an upward shift in the curve is unavoidable. In this context, continuation of market intervention operations would determine the new trading band for sovereign securities.

This is a market friendly budget with respect to equity markets at first glance. The equity markets have run up on valuations and it is kind of imperative that earnings growth catches up. To that extent, the loosening of purse strings as a counter cyclical measure, increase in planned capex and the neutrality on direct taxes are meaningful positives that provide greater confidence on earnings growth mean reverting back to high double digits.

The Union Budget has made the right sounds by pushing reforms to add infrastructure creation in healthcare and roads. Provisions for MSMEs will give a big boost to the sector that has borne the maximum brunt of the COVID 19 pandemic. Setting up of the long-awaited bad bank will ease the bad loan burden by taking over the assets. This will help the banks focus on credit growth, which was hit because of the Covid pandemic. Asset Reconstruction Company and Asset Management Company to house stressed assets will also help move the bad assets currently lying in the books of Indian banks.

The Rs 20,000 crore capital infusion into public sector banks announced will allow more room for provisioning of bad assets and boost credit growth, provided demand makes a comeback.

It is a budget aimed at growth and exactly what the doctor had ordered for the economy. Government has tried to solve some of the issues by creating employment opportunities. A lot would depend on the execution during the year.

The Government has announced a number of measures for MSMEs besides more than doubling the allocation for the sector. Several other steps like reduction of customs duty on semis, flat and long products of non-alloy, alloy, and stainless steels is a big boost for the sector that has borne the maximum brunt of the COVID 19 pandemic. MSMEs and other user industries had been severely hit by a recent sharp rise in iron and steel prices. Further measures for metal re-cyclers will also provide the necessary relief to the many MSMEs working in those sectors.

However, we feel that the government should have considered to address the long pending demand of MSME sector to simplify GST and reduce the tax rate from 18% to 5% on professional services.

It is heartening to see that the government has finally addressed the long-standing demand of the industry by increasing FDI limit in insurance sector from 49% to 74%, subject to specific compliance. This move will allow foreign ownership and control safeguards, help liberalize the sector and improve penetration. The limit hike will also attract enhanced capital flow to the sector and help insurance companies to raise funds.

However, as mentioned by the Minister of Finance, the execution of the proposal will require amendments to Insurance Laws Act 2015 and Insurance Act 1938.

The budget strengthens the Skill India mandate of India being the human capital provider for the world including an avenue for livelihoods of the underserved - economically weaker sections, SC, ST. The Nursing bill is welcome and the current draft needs amendments for creating a credit continuum from ANM (Auxiliary Nursing & Midwifery) to all the way MSc nursing for upward mobility. This is a forward looking budget that is much needed for COVID resilience. While budgeting is important for 'what is being funded', It would further help if 'the how' (implementation) mechanisms are outlined and increasingly made outcomes focused year on year. The central scheme based framework needs to be reimagined for making Atmanirbhar Bharat a reality.

The measures announced by the government demonstrate its bullishness towards the startup ecosystem. The extension of long-term capital gains by another year will offer tailwinds to early stage funding. Extension of tax holiday by one year is also an encouraging offering, however, most of the new age startups don't start booking profits in the early years. The Budget’s focus on economic development, infrastructure and health will definitely put India back on the growth trajectory after an unprecedented past financial year.

We congratulate Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman on budget speech in the Parliament today. We welcome the move in launching a portal to maintain information on gig workers and construction workers. This could help in monitoring the health and also in providing the benefits. We also welcome the major proposal about boosting the road, rail and airport infrastructure for a robust public transport. This will ease the mobility and now people will also think about property investments outside the city. This budget allocation towards pubic transport will definitely reduce the air pollution resulting in a healthy and peaceful living. Government’s decision to extend eligibility of erstwhile tax sop on home loan up to FY22 and the proposal that affordable housing projects can avail tax holiday for one more year can ease financial constraints on the real estate developers. It will certainly boost the real estate sector and accelerate it towards the growth wave. Homebuyers can expect a slew of options in the coming quarters as developers get the due support from the financial institutions as well as the government.

With an expansionary Budget that focuses on growth, the Finance Minister has delivered on major counts. The Budget has announced a massive infrastructure boost with huge outlay for Railways and privatizing airports. Along with this, measures that will increase consumer spending and make India more self-reliant are a step in the right direct. Fitness testing for both PVs and CVs is a positive move that will not only generate employment opportunities but also ensure a cleaner environment. Our sector has got a favorable boost in form of FM's voluntary vehicle scrappage policy announcement.

The Union Budget 2021 looks promising for the overall growth and revival of the economy which has been impacted due to the pandemic that the entire world witnessed last year. Capital infusion of INR 1,000 crores to Solar Energy Corporation of India and INR 1,500 crores to Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency will give a further boost to the non-conventional energy sector which will help in embracing the country’s green energy movement. Investing in the infrastructure sector, decreasing regulatory restraint, strengthening the regulations, executing digitization in several segments should act as mechanisms in enhancing India's rank to improve the process of doing business. Notification on phased manufacturing plan for solar cells and solar panels will help in supporting Atmanirbhar Bharat and ramping up domestic capacity. Also, the proposed hike in the duty on solar inverters from 5% to 20% is going to boost domestic production which will further push the Government’s thrust on Atmanirbhar Bharat. The government’s proposal of launching a Hydrogen Energy Mission in 2021-22 will play a significant role in moving towards clean power resource. Considering the current times, this budget is focused on India's development and is commissioned to accelerate the growth rate.

Budget 2021 constructively impact the lives of common man with targeted proposals for extending social security benefits to gig economy, tax concessions on affordable housing and rental housing, simplified compliance regime for start-ups and exemption to senior citizens from tax filings.  Stability in tax regime, simplification in compliance procedures along with consolidation of laws will provide a strong foundation to the six pillars for achieving economic growth.

Hon'ble FM's vision for Atmanirbhar Bharat with a budget focused on six essential pillars is commendable. The government has set an ambitious target to build infrastructure in the country and increase focus on digitisation and public investments. The proposal to exempt dividend payments on REITs and InVITs from TDS will surely boost investor sentiment thus augmenting funds for infra and real estate sectors. Initiatives to boost the Indian startup ecosystem by incentivising the setting up of One Person Companies (OPCs), announcing tax holidays and an extension in capital gains exemption are welcome steps.

This budget has the ingredients to deliver long term growth. The government is bullish on public spending and we are encouraged by it. We were certain that Budget 2021 would surely consider the gloom that hovered over the Indian auto industry and it is reassuring to see that it did. The infrastructure boost will surely benefit the heavy and medium commercial vehicle segment, which was much needed. The voluntary scrappage policy implementation is surely a step in the right direction keeping in mind the environment and auto industry at large. We have been awaiting it for a while and this is a step forward for sure. In fact, the announcement regarding the PLI scheme investments is going to play an accelerator for the manufacturing sector, which has seen really tough times along with the auto industry. This gives reason for double celebration as it will encourage global manufacturing firms and also provide incentives for local manufacturing firms to expand. This is a huge step in terms of creating jobs and opportunities for the youth. This budget has been very progressive for the railways as well, an important sector for us. The decision of commissioning dedicated freight corridors which will not only improve the overall movement of goods but also spur economic activities in the long run. The continued push for investment in railway with the additional allocation towards MetroLite and MetroNeo for smaller cities for bodes well in the long run. The only caution here is to look at the inflating fiscal deficit. Overall, the budget provides an opportunity for the state and the central governments to come together and rebuild for the future and we must seize these opportunities for future growt

For the NBFC sector, focus on affordable housing as well as infrastructure and infrastructure debt funds, should improve the outlook and opportunities for large NBFCs with proven business strengths in these sectors. Furthermore, the budget’s focus on Rural and Agri Infra, including increased corpus for rural infrastructure, creation of 1000 additional e-mandis, continued MSP support and more, are much welcome reforms for the farm sector. This will significantly help improve the overall rural landscape, both at an economic and social level.

We welcome the thrust of Union Budget 2021 in reviving the economy. The focus on healthcare and the initiatives announced are a gigantic step in the interest our countrymen. Healthcare has been given the status it deserves. The announcement of the centrally funded scheme -- Aatmanirbhar Health Yojana -- with an outlay of Rs 64,180 crore over six years in addition to National Health Mission is a welcome step towards strengthening primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare. However, the manner in which this allocation will be made in the next five years will be critical. Also, some allocation of funds for the private healthcare sector would only boost it further since a healthy public-private partnership is the need of the hour today.

This special attention given to the healthcare sector, increasing the overall outlay to health and wellbeing by more than 135% over last year are a big step in the right direction. The allocation of 350 billion rupees towards COVID-19 vaccination is also a welcome step. Setting up of 15 Health Emergency Centres shows that the government wants to be future-ready in handling any further such crises situations. It is laudable that government has put healthcare at the forefront. This would not only make quality healthcare accessible and affordable it will also help standardize healthcare infrastructure across the country. Overall, the budget has been positive and refreshing in its scope and scale.

This is just the right budget for the welfare of women and children as the Finance Minister has focused on increasing household income of farmers; strengthening the healthcare infrastructure, and promoting women's participation in the workforce, which are some of the key enablers of an equitable and knowledge society. Besides the Budget has given the much-needed impetus to the implementation of the new National Education Policy. The attention to such key areas of development is crucial for every child to have the opportunity to grow into a contributing and responsible citizen.

In the wake of the pandemic-led disruptions the need for ensuring social security, protection of livelihoods, and creating economic opportunities for women, and youth cannot be overlooked or overstated. Hence, it is heartening to see the importance this Budget has given to doubling farmers' income, and opportunities for youth to learn vocational skills and become either employable or turn into entrepreneurs. Rs 3000 crores is earmarked for this skilling initiative.

And for the first time, the government is spelling out social security benefits to gig and platform workers. A bold and commendable move is to set minimum wages for all categories of workers. Timely policy intervention is to allow women to work in night shifts with adequate protection and to simplify the compliance procedures in this regard. This will increase the participation of women in the workforce. When these measures are implemented, the household income of many vulnerable families will increase - and the risk of the children of these families losing parental care will come down to that extent.

The Finance Minister has laid out a Rs 64,180 crore spending plan for healthcare over the next six years to strengthen primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare. The Budget envisages the setting up of about 17,000 rural and 11,000 urban health and wellness centres. There will be integrated public health labs, the importance of which is profoundly felt during the pandemic, in each district. In addition, there will be over 3,380 block public health units across 11 states. Mission POSHAN 2.0 will strengthen nutritional content, delivery & outcome, as part of an intensified strategy for improving nutritional outcomes in women and children.

On the education front, we get the feeling that several laudable proposals of the new Education Policy are going to take off sooner than expected. The government has demonstrated its commitment to qualitatively strengthen over 15,000 schools. It is opening more Sainik Schools and about 750 Eklavya schools for the children of tribal communities. Overall Budget 2021 has left no stone unturned in making sure that societies prosper economically and afford opportunities for the children and the youth to realise their potential.

Governments move on the proposed 1500 crore fund for digital payments is a welcome move and will go a long way in strengthening payment infrastructure in the country and taking financial services to the last-mile. We would await to see the fine print of where this fund will be allocated.

Waiver of Tax audit for companies with turnover upto 10 crs and a cash expenditure of less than 5% will push Small businesses to move towards Digital payments.

The budget announced today is in line with the expectations and rightly focuses on the health and wellbeing of the nation recovering from the pandemic. We believe that the policy reforms announced by the Finance Minister will help boost the economy. Steps taken towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat, local manufacturing, employment generation, will help boost economic activity. We also appreciate the Government's vision to announce a new centrally sponsored scheme, PM Aatmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana which will be launched with an outlay of about 64,180 crores over 6 years. Aatmanirbhar Bharat is a viewpoint of 130 crores Indians who have full assurance in their capabilities and skills.

As a leading direct selling company, we believe that the entrepreneurship has always been in our country's DNA. The recently announced “Vocal for Local” initiative that encourages local businesses and products to strive for international standards of quality and service, will further boost the entrepreneurial spirit among the young and upcoming entrepreneurs.

The FY22 Budget is big on vision and has taken a series of measures to bring back sustained and high growth for the Indian economy. It is evident that the budget plans to give a big boost to both manufacturing and infrastructure with some path breaking steps like creation of Development Financial institution to fund the ambitious National Infrastructure Pipeline, setting up of National Asset Monetisation Pipeline that will free up idle resources including surplus land with PSUs, and monetisation of various assets of railways like dedicated freight corridors, power transmission lines, roads, and oil and gas pipelines for fund mobilisation. The decision to set up three more dedicated freight corridors will ensure faster and smoother delivery of raw materials as well as industrial and farm products, which will help save costs and allow companies to target new markets.

Additionally, the budget has emphasized on creating infrastructure for R&D and Skill enhancement in Artificial intelligence, which will play a pivotal role in preparing the workforce for the future. If rolled out well, all these initiatives will act as a game-changer for the Indian economy and allow India to emerge as global hub for both manufacturing and trained workforce in this decade.

The FY22 Union Budget is bold and visionary as it focuses on boosting domestic manufacturing and strengthening infrastructure across the country to acthe vision of an AtmaNirbhar Bharat. The budget has backed up the targeted infrastructure led recovery with hefty increase in allocation to boost formation of assets across the country. Thus, the budget has proposed to raise capital expenditure by 35% on year to Rs 5.54 lakh crore for FY22. The launch of Asset Monetization Pipeline for brownfield infrastructure assets including railways will give necessary fillip to the sector and create a virtuous cycle for mobilising finances with launch of sector specific InvITs. The decision to launch three more dedicated freight corridors will ensure seamless movement of goods including raw materials and further bring down logistics costs for manufacturing sector.  Furthermore, increasing the target of National Infrastructure Pipeline projects to 7,400 projects will be instrumental in creating job opportunities across the country apart from providing strong business opportunities for ancillary industries like steel and cement. The budget has also laid emphasis on boosting the start-up ecosystem by incentivising one person companies and allocating Rs 50,000 crore for research. It is also heartening to see that budget has focussed on tackling the critical challenge of air pollution by allocating Rs 2,217 crores for 42 urban centres with a million-plus population.

The Budget 2021-22 has left the data science community quite excited for what is to come. For me it was really interesting when the Government announced that it will launch multiple data analytics, AI, ML driven models for e-security, e-education, e- consultation, and compliance management. Also, the prospect of using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in GST Fraud Tracking is quite motivating and intriguing.

The Government's continued support for the startup is quite uplifting as the Government is setting aside Rs 15,700 crore in FY22 and has reduced margin money requirement from 25% to 15% for startups. The proposal of extending the tax holiday for start-ups by one more year will also give more confidence to the entrepreneurs.

While there is nothing specific on the tourism and hospitality sector in the budget, I feel broader focus on the budget on increasing consumption and infrastructure spend by the government will have a positive impact on the hospitality sector. The government has done the right thing by not introducing any new tax or COVID cess as some had anticipated. We also believe that the amount allocated for COVID vaccination is a positive for our sector as more people get vaccinated it will encourage people to travel.

I think the budget is positive in the sense that it will drive consumption and encourage consumers to spend like they were doing the pre-COVID times. The announcement on rationalization of custom duty on gold, silver and other precious metals is a huge positive for us in the bespoke watch industry. The demand for bespoke gold watches is at all time low, a lower customs duty will help us in reducing our input costs which we can pass on to consumers. Await to hear details on custom duty for imported watches. 

Overall, it is a very promising and encouraging budget for the health and wellness sector. Happy to see that health and well-being has been given due importance and noted as the first pillar of the budget. Most of our suggestions have been incorporated. 

Increasing outlay by 138 percent and the focus on strengthening the healthcare infrastructure across the primary, secondary and tertiary levels is a welcome move. The investments allocated for the detection and cure of new and emerging diseases, renewed thrust to Mission Poshan, skill development appropriate to the healthcare segment and commitment to meet one of the SDGs on infant mortality is commendable. I believe all these steps combined will benefit millions of Indians and help us move ahead on the goal of ensuring healthcare access for all. 

The budget has also given a fillip to innovative, agile companies and has opened several avenues for them. The API sector will get an incentive to boost PLI and the tax holiday to R&D is another positive move. 

The only let down in a sense has been that while the government has increased funding and allocation, in some areas it has increased the cost of doing business. Again, given that healthcare is a largely state issue, the onus will be on the states to ensure that these allocations reap benefits. On the whole, I would give the budget a thumbs up, but resource allocation and on-ground implementation will be critical for success. I would also like to see prevention, cure and wellness being continuing themes for the budget y-oy.

The announcement made in the Union Budget to streamline the implementation of New Education Policy 2020 and the introduction of legislation for setting-up of Higher Education Commission of India showcases the government’s commitment to facilitate a better quality of education and the will to create learning opportunities for aspirational India. As a dedicated educational institute, we support the initiatives to create robust infrastructure facilities for our tribal student community by increasing the unit cost of each school. The government’s move to promote enhanced academic collaboration with foreign higher educational institutions will benefit the education system and result in widened scope of opportunities for students.

I'd like to commend the government on presenting a comprehensive budget that aims to address some of the most important aspects of how we can build a resilient economy, especially in light of the global pandemic. The budget was clearly pro-growth, pro-technology, pro-infrastructure and also had an earmarked place for improving healthcare in our country. The initiatives announced will certainly aid economic recovery, whether that's through capital infusion, change in taxation norms, programs for promoting domestic manufacturing or development of relevant infrastructure - these will create large opportunities for the MSMEs and is a right step in the direction of building an "Aatmanirbhar Bharat.Roopam Asthana, CEO & Whole-time Director, Liberty General Insurance