Frankly, I expected nothing out of this Union Budget, and the Finance Minister has certainly met my expectations!
Presenting a Budget that was high on tokenism and low on action, Mr Pranab Mukherjee has tried to appease everyone.
While Corporate India is not complaining about corporate tax being unchanged, it is concerned about the impact of the hike in indirect taxes on our economy and on the ‘aam aadmi’ that the ruling Congress-led alliance had made its mascot for the last general elections.
The government’s proposal to tax foreign shareholding with retrospective effect is a highly retrogressive step that will have serious implications for India’s economy and business. Instead of using this Budget to proclaim that India is open to business, the government is closing the doors. It appears to be the step of an administration which is desperate to raise revenues from any source possible. This is one rollback the government must effect immediately.
As far as biotechnology is concerned, I am pleased that the Finance Minister has extended by 5 years the 200% weighted deduction on R&D. The formulation of special guidelines to allow SMEs to list on stock exchanges can help biotech start-ups get access to much-needed funding.
There are several notional announcements to increase allocation for a range of social requirements. However, these are ad hoc concessions showing that the government aims to merely tinker with problems instead of launching the full-scale assault we need to mount on India’s many challenges.
With this Budget, the government had an opportunity to take decisive strides in the direction of socio-economic progress – but sadly it remains inert. It is time to remember that actions speak louder than rhetoric.
Kiran Majumdar-Shaw CMD, Biocon
