Union Budget 2022 reactions from Gera Developments, Suumaya Industries, IPGA, Plinthstone and NaariO on overall industry, real estate, agriculture and startup sectors

New Delhi [India], February 2 (ANI/Hunk Golden and Media): Commenting on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's announcement related to housing & urban planning, Rohit Gera, Managing Director, Gera Developments said, "PMAY scheme has helped lakhs of Indians achieve their home aspiration dreams over the last few years. The extension of the scheme with 48,000 crores being allocated this year will continue to help the EWS and LIG sections of society get their own homes."

Harish Sharma, Founder and CEO - PLINTHSTONE REMA said, "FM's decision of allocating Rs 48,000 cr for affordable housing under PMAY for rural and urban categories is a brilliant move by FM. A large portion of the Indian population (EWS & LIG) will be benefitted by this move. Food, clothing and shelter being the necessity of every individual, having a roof under head of every Indian citizen should be a priority to contribute to the development of the nation. Since, additional 80 lac houses will be constructed in the upcoming FY, we can see the forecast of India being one step ahead in becoming a "developed country"

While highlighting Highway to New-Age Digital "Bharat" - Amrit Kaal to establish India on Global Platform and giving a rating of 8/10, Ushik Gala, Chairman & Managing Director of Suumaya Industries Limited said, "The Budget FY2022-23 is quite a dynamic, forward-looking and growth-oriented budget paving the way for driving the all the growth engines of the Indian Economy. The underlying of the budget is quite futuristics taking into account the significance of adoption and development of new age technology, which has become an integral part of global economy and our life.

Finance Minister has done a commendable job by addressing all the fundamental and essential drivers of the economy and paving the way for accelerating the growth momentum in the same - Infrastructure, Agriculture, Micro - SME - MSMEs, Manufacturing, Education, Healthcare, Technology, Telecom, Green energy, etc. Right measures initiated in empowering the core industries with the new-age technology, which is going to be the key differentiator going forward.

PM Gatishakti and Inclusive Development addressing all the key sectors of the economy - Road, Railways, Airports, Mass Transport, Waterways and Logistic Infrastructure is a step forward in the right direction. Empowering farmers & vast Micro, Small & MSME population is an important initiative as this segment is likely to be a driving force to drive Indian Economy from USD 3 trillion to USD 5 trillion.

Government has made all efforts to encourage start-ups and R & D initiatives, which would aid to fuel economic growth. Promoting digital economy & fintech, technology enabled development, productivity enhancement & investment, sunrise opportunities, energy transition and climate action has remained at the forefront. Commitment to create a conducive environment to gear up for future enabled is quite overwhelming. Launch of 'Digital Rupee' is another path-breaking initiative as it would give confidence to the World that India is future ready on all aspects.

One major highlight of the Budget is that the Government has taken due cognisance of the need to fund the growth aspirations. Accordingly, it has realised the significance of stepping on public capital expenditure to attract private capital expenditure. Substantial increase in capital allocation would significantly augur well for the growth momentum and reviving the capex cycle. Government has also tried to maintain fiscal prudence by trying to maintain fiscal deficit target at 6.4 per cent.

Taking a look into the future, we at Suumaya have tried to evolve our business model over the last two years in the areas of Agriculture, Supply Chain, Technology and Financial Inclusion. We are all geared up to usher into the new era in sync with emerging Bharat."

Applauding the incentives for start-ups, Anamika Pandey, Founder, NaariO, India's 1st woman led food startup that offers natural and organic products, all pioneered by women said, "COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the world economy, including disruption of nations' varied industries like manufacturing, supply chain, food processing, etc. Lockdowns did not just halt the mobility of goods, services, and humans but also pulled back the governance receipts affecting the fiscal balance. From the perspective of overall macroeconomic stance, increased GST collections present a favourable picture indicating two key aspects - Economic Recovery and Reduced anti evasions activities.

Now Economic Recovery also means Financial Inclusion of the marginalised and unemployed who are contributing to the economy more than before for instance women- especially homemakers. It also indicates the formalisation of the workforce. This is aligned with Naario's vision of empowering women and making them participate in the formal sector. However, every good indication comes with some fallouts. What people often ignore is the differential contribution of varied sectors and direct vs indirect taxes in this overall illusive figure. Recent trends have shown that corporate taxes in comparison to income taxes of non-corporates and higher indirect taxes. This is problematic as indirect taxes do not distinguish between rich and poor and it shifts the burden of tax to the poor and deprived majority which may lead to a rise in inequality and deprivation of select classes and communities."

Commenting on the benefits to the agri-sector, Bimal Kothari, Vice Chairman, India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) said, The Finance Minister of India has announced various steps particularly focusing on technology in agriculture, which is a very progressive move. Crops like pulses and edible oil seeds require special attention, because India has been importing them. Though the production of pulses has definitely been given a boost, but still, we are importing about 2.5 million tons of Pulses annually. Also, the demand for pulses is increasing to one million ton annually, so by 2030 India's demand will be around 30 to 33 million tons of pulses. Therefore, we need to enhance the production and not just focus on increasing the minimum support price (MSP) every time as its going to hurt the consumers in the long run. Our Prime Minister's vision to double farmers' income can be attained by increasing productivity. As of now our productivity is really low in comparison to international levels.

The finance minister's announcement to use Kisan drones to map the production is indeed a very good step. This will allow us to estimate the production and understand the crop losses accurately. It will also be very useful in spraying of insecticides. Not just the farmers but even the government will benefit from this drone scheme. Many times we are unable to get accurate numbers of production, whereas government policies are totally dependent and designed based on these numbers. Getting the most accurate numbers related to productions and losses will immensely benefit government, trading associations and farmers.

The measures announced for startups in the budget will encourage Agri-tech although this is at a very initial stage as there is still a lot that needs to be done. The contribution of farming sector in GDP is very less hence we need to bring in more value addition. This will happen only if we stop relying on sales of raw materials and use these raw materials to sell value added products. In the pulses sector, a lot of development is being done in the western world in terms of alternative protein or plant-based meat which is now being introduced in India as well. Therefore, if advanced technologies are brought and set up in India it will not only help the trade and industries but it will also help the farmers immensely. As value addition will definitely have an impact in the farming sector. Also, finance minister has earmarked Rs. 2,37,000 crores for procurement of various crops at MSP. Government is doing lot of programs for wheat and rice which is going on for decades but now more focus is required on oil seeds and pulses. In pulses sector there has been significant procurement in last three to four years, but this needs to be enhanced more and buffer stocks need to be created as its being done in case of wheat and paddy. So, that government can do market intervention to control the prices when the production gets affected due to unavoidable events. This is more important in the pulses sector because pulses production of other origin is much less than our requirements/shortfalls. Therefore, if India faces any shortage of pulses, it won't be possible to make it up though international markets as well. Also, this buffer stock needs to be liquidated from time to time through public distribution system to tackle the issue of malnutrition in the country. Since India has the largest population of vegetarians, pulses becomes a very important source of protein to overcome the issue of malnutrition.

This story is provided by Hunk Golden and Media. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/Hunk Golden and Media)