NRAI President Kabir Suri's take on best, worst things in Union Budget

'The best thing about the Budget, in my opinion, has to be the spending on infrastructure', said Suri

Does the Budget address the distress caused by the pandemic?

In terms of the hospitality sector, they have not provided much relief to us. The extension of ECLGS expansion till 2023 with additional corpus of Rs 50,000 crore dedicated to hospitality and allied industries is the only "relief" provided to our sector. However, this is loan over loan, at high interest, and it remains to be seen in the fine print if it will also enable moratorium extension of all previous schemes and debt restructuring.

The restaurant industry was eagerly looking at some immediate liquidity support, restoration of Input Tax Credit on GST, ease of doing business from overregulation and excessive licensing, and a fair and equitable e-commerce policy for the survival and revival of the restaurant sector. Globally, the food services industry was amongst the hardest hit by the Covid pandemic, with India being no exception. In FY21, the food services industry in India declined by 53 per cent and was estimated to be worth Rs 200,762 crore compared to Rs 423,624 crore in FY2020. It is important for the government to recognise the sector’s increasing contribution.

Will this Budget help the economy and create jobs?

Definitely. The increase in capex with regard to infrastructure and the expansion of the roadways network will help create more jobs for the general public.

What is the best thing about the Budget? And the worst?

The best thing about the Budget, in my opinion, has to be the spending on infrastructure. Apart from that, it is nice to see the government trying to use technology to their advantage. It will help us in the ease-of-doing business ranks and is a welcome outlook.

There is no worst thing, so to say, but they could have done more to change the structure of GST slabs. They could have done more to simplify the GST rates and the tax rate by simplifying the GST slabs by bringing them down to one.

Does the Budget make India a better investment destination?
 

With respect to the projected revenue and GST growth, it does look like India could be a better investment destination. The infra push and the capital gain tax will be beneficial for foreign companies. The Budget provides an opportunity for growth and has a macro outlook.