Anjuum Khanna – Here are some sector-wise highlights that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has promised an unprecedented Union budget aimed at buoying the economy. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Budget proposals for this financial year rest on six pillars that is health and well-being, physical and financial capital and infrastructure, inclusive development for aspirational India, reinvigorating human capital, innovation and R&D, and ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’. 

The risk-on budget keeping fiscal deficit at 6.8 percent for FY22 with a 35 percent jump in capital expenditure is probably what the weak economy needed in a pandemic that pushed the country into a technical recession. Some Significant announcements included a slew of hikes in custom duties to benefit the Make in India, also, some proposals to disinvest two more PSBs and a general insurance company, and numerous infrastructure pledges to poll-bound States. Fiscal deficit stands at 9.5% of the GDP, and is estimated to be 6.8% in 2021-22. Personal income tax slabs remain as is.  

Here’s a short list of winners and losers from Monday’s budget announcements

Winners:

1) Healthcare

The Covid-19 pandemic prompted Nirmala Sitharaman to boost healthcare spending by 137% this year, an improvement over the less than 2% of gross domestic product that India has traditionally spent on health annually. 

2) Real Estate and Constructions

Real estate developers are set to benefit from plans for a new development finance institution to meet funding requirements for infrastructure related projects.

3) Metal Makers

The announcement of an additional 11,000-km of highways and metros, along with rapid rail transport projects for 27 cities ,and a long-awaited vehicle scrappage policy boosted stocks of metal companies that will cater to added demand for steel and aluminum. 

4) State Run Banks

The government announced it was forming an asset management company to take over stressed assets of banks in an effort to clean up one of the world’s worst piles of bad loans. Banks, insurers rose on plans for setting up a bad-debt manager.

5) Textiles

Sitharaman’s announcement of the establishment of seven mega textile parks to be launched in three years could boost the sector.

Losers:

1) Bonds

A higher-than-expected $164-billion borrowing plan for the new fiscal year hit India’s sovereign bonds, which slid after the announcement. The government also plans to raise another 800 billion rupees by this fiscal year, on top of its projection of record 13.1 trillion rupees of debt sales.

2) Exporters

India raised import tariffs on solar and mobile-phone equipment and auto parts, among others. Announced with a view to boosting local manufacturing in line with the government’s focus on self-reliance, the move may raise further concerns about India’s trade policies that are increasingly seen as protectionist.

3) Farmers/ Rural Area

The farm sector received attention but there were no major announcements that could help address the ongoing unrest on New Delhi’s borders, where thousands are protesting for the repeal of new agriculture laws. There were also no significant announcements on boosting consumption in the rural economy. The budget estimate for expenditure on the rural jobs scheme was 730 billion rupees for the financial year 2022, compared to the 1.1 trillion expenditure in the revised estimate for FY21.

4) IT Firms

India’s biggest services export contributors received little attention in the budget. There were no sops to boost the future of information technology from Sitharaman this year for companies including TCS Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Wipro, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, along with mid-sized firms like LTI, Mindtree, Persistent and Hexaware.

About Anjuum Khanna,

Anjuum Khanna helps leaders and teams discover the magic of conversations (leads). He is a specialist in Fintech, eCom Startups, BPOs, Telecom & D2H, spearheaded domestic & Global Business Operations, etc fields.  In his free time, he loves reading and blogging.