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By:

Amey Chitale

28 October 2024 at 5:29:02 am

Growth Without Fireworks

The Budget leans on tourism, technology, trade calibration and fiscal discipline to anchor growth amid global uncertainty Mumbai: The new budget positions tourism as a key driver of jobs, forex earnings, and local growth. Incentives will back indigenous seaplane manufacturing through a Seaplane VGF Scheme, while a new National Institute of Hospitality will strengthen academia-industry-government linkages. A pilot programme will upskill 10,000 guides at 20 iconic sites with IIM collaboration,...

Growth Without Fireworks

The Budget leans on tourism, technology, trade calibration and fiscal discipline to anchor growth amid global uncertainty Mumbai: The new budget positions tourism as a key driver of jobs, forex earnings, and local growth. Incentives will back indigenous seaplane manufacturing through a Seaplane VGF Scheme, while a new National Institute of Hospitality will strengthen academia-industry-government linkages. A pilot programme will upskill 10,000 guides at 20 iconic sites with IIM collaboration, and a National Destination Digital Knowledge Grid will document cultural and heritage sites. Heritage tourism will be enhanced with experiential upgrades at 15 archaeological sites, and new projects will expand the Buddhist circuit in the northeast. Seven High-Speed Rail corridors will serve as sustainable ‘growth connectors,’ boosting mobility and linking emerging hubs. Software services, IT-enabled services, KPO, and contract R&D are consolidated under ‘Information Technology Services’ with a uniform safe harbour margin of 15.5 percent. The safe harbour threshold rises from Rs. 300 crore to Rs. 2,000 crore, easing compliance for mid-sized firms. To spur investment in critical infrastructure, a tax holiday until 2047 is offered to foreign companies delivering global cloud services via Indian data centres, provided domestic customers are served through Indian resellers. This landmark measure positions modern data centres as central pillars of India’s digital economy and future growth. Key Reforms Income tax rates remain steady but introduces key compliance reforms. TCS on foreign travel and education is reduced to 2 percent, and TDS rules for manpower services have been simplified. Taxpayers can now file Form 15G/15H directly through depositories, easing coordination. Penalty provisions are de-criminalised, with many shifted to late fees. While broader capital gains rationalisation was anticipated, relief comes through treating buyback proceeds as capital gains, lowering the tax burden for recipients. Trade-friendly customs duty reforms find place instead changes rather than sweeping reforms. The duty-free import limit for seafood export inputs rises from 1 percent to 3 percent of turnover, with similar relief extended to shoe uppers. Exporters of leather, textiles, and footwear gain flexibility as the export period is extended to one year. To encourage domestic value addition in consumer electronics, specified parts for microwave oven manufacturing are now exempted. The recommendations of 16th Finance Commission have been accepted by the centre which recommended 41 percent devolution. Budget 2026 reaffirms the government’s commitment to fiscal consolidation while safeguarding social priorities. The debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to decline from 56.1 percent in 2025–26 to 55.6 percent in 2026–27, freeing resources for priority spending by lowering interest outgo. The fiscal deficit target has been met at 4.4 percent of GDP in 2025–26 and is estimated to further ease to 4.3 percent in 2026–27, in line with the path toward a 50±1 percent debt-to-GDP ratio by 2030–31. Revised estimates for 2025–26 place non-debt receipts at Rs. 34 trillion and expenditure at Rs. 49.6 trillion, including Rs. 11 trillion in capital outlay. For 2026–27, receipts are projected at Rs. 36.5 trillion and expenditure at Rs. 53.5 trillion, with net tax receipts of Rs. 28.7 trillion. The government is banking on higher RBI dividends and higher disinvestment receipts. Fiscal deficit financing will hinge on Rs. 11.7 trillion in net market borrowings, supplemented by small savings and other sources, with gross borrowings at Rs. 17 trillion. Successful execution will decide if the budget’s ambitions become reality. This year’s strategy favours actions over numbers, consolidating and reinforcing the ecosystem instead of chasing headline reforms. Amid geopolitical tensions and market volatility, it prioritises stability and durable growth over quick wins - less a Sehwag-style first-ball six, more a Rahul Dravid innings: deliberate, resilient, and built for the long haul.

Shinde targets Uddhav for ‘giving up’ Thackeray’s principles forever

Updated: Nov 7, 2024

Shinde targets Uddhav

Pune: Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday hit out at Uddhav Thackeray for ‘abandoning’ the principles of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, and claimed the Maha Vikas Aghadi government had been formed against the people’s wishes.


Speaking at a campaign rally in Satara in support of Shambhuraj Desai ahead of the November 20 state assembly elections, Shinde also said the higher “strike rate” of the Shiv Sena led by him in the Lok Sabha polls proved `whose Shiv Sena is the real one’.


“Some people abandoned the principles of Bal Thackeray,” Shinde said, taking a swipe at Uddhav Thackeray, Bal Thackeray’s son, who joined hands with the Congress and NCP in 2019 to form the MVA government.


“The party was put up for sale, Shiv Sena workers and the party were suppressed. Seeing this, the workers got restless. Shambhuraj Desai used to ask me, when should we act (rebel against Thackeray). I asked him to wait for the right time as the prey should come in sight. Once it comes, we will act,” said Shinde who split the Shiv Sena in 2022 and formed a government with the BJP’s support.


The MVA government of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress was formed against the wishes of the people, Shinde claimed.


The Shiv Sena and BJP contested the 2019 assembly elections together with photos of Bal Thackeray and Prime Minister Narendra Modi featuring prominently during the campaign, he said.


“But after the elections, you (Uddhav) went with Congress. Balasaheb would have never accepted this, and that was why we took this step,” said Shinde, who was a minister in the Thackeray-led MVA government until his rebellion.


He and his supporters did not leave the Shiv Sena, Shinde asserted.


“We did not leave the Shiv Sena; we stayed, rescued the Shiv Sena, saved its bow-and-arrow symbol, and succeeded,” he added.


More and more people were joining his party, the chief minister said, adding, “Our strike rate in the Lok Sabha elections was higher than that of the Shiv Sena (UBT). We fought 13 seats and won seven, and it shows whose Shiv Sena is real.”


The Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena contested 21 seats and won nine. Shinde averred that his Shiv Sena will never give up Bal Thackeray’s principles for power. A fake narrative that the Constitution will be changed if the BJP-led NDA retained power was spread during the Lok Sabha polls, he said.


“One can win elections by spreading a fake narrative only once, it will not work this time as people know the truth,” the chief minister said.

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