The Narendra Modi-led Government of India has announced that the Union Budget 2024 will be presented in the Parliament on 23 July. The budget will be presented by Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of Finance on the behalf of the NDA-led Government of India, which has come into power for the third consecutive time. Since the same government has been in power from the past 15 years, the industry naturally has various expectations and is expecting the good work to continue.
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Nirmala Sitharaman had announced youth, the poor, women, and farmers as the four pillars during the Interim Budget 2024 announced in February prior to the Government coming into power. However, at present, the Indian Government is expected to make several announcements for SMBs, MSMEs, Startups and also the middle class citizens of the country. “Corporate India is eagerly anticipating the upcoming budget, hoping it will continue to prioritize infrastructure development, which is crucial for sustained economic growth. They also seek increased support for MSMEs, recognizing their role in job creation. Additionally, easing and streamlining the licensing process for electronics imports is needed to enhance efficiency,” said Rahul Garg, CEO and founder, Moglix.
The Government has also announced to expand the tax exemption for startups to enable their growth. “From the startup perspective, they are integral for a Viksit Bharat. The recent $7 Billion funding raised in H1 2024 showcases promising growth potential. To further accelerate this momentum, the elimination of the Angel Tax on startups would be a welcome move as it can increase domestic capital formation and ease of doing business,” added Garg.
The Minister also mentioned about decrease in corporate tax rates for existing domestic companies from 30% to 22%, and for certain new manufacturing companies to 15%. However, the industry also highlighted the need for more production-linked schemes. “there is a need to expand the scope of the PLI scheme. By including labor-intensive sectors and those with strong linkages to MSMEs, PLI scheme could be a game changer for the manufacturing industry in India as it fosters innovation and will drive exports and employment generation. PLI schemes have the potential to act as accelerators for high-quality job creation while giving a substantial boost to domestic manufacturing. Additionally, the industry is also looking forward to incentivisation in manufacturing sector to boost consumption,” noted Garg.
