“With the fixed evolution within the trendy healthcare sector, Ayurveda has turn out to be a elementary pillar as 80–90% of Indians depend upon it for his or her major healthcare wants. We count on the federal government to provide extra monetary help to facilitate the combination of extra Ayurveda Acharyas into the healthcare system and put money into creating extra Ayurvedic schools like All Indian Institutes of Ayurveda, Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth, the Institute of Teaching & Research in Ayurveda, and plenty of extra,” Naman Dhamija, MD and Founder of Dharishah Ayurveda said. 

“Supporting these institutions with greater financial support is essential for advancing education, research, and the overall development of Ayurveda. Apart from this, we have seen the emergence of new-age Ayurvedic brands in the changing landscape. Therefore we expect the government to implement policies that offer sustainable tax incentives to support their expansion. Additionally, allocating funds towards research and development is important, as it enables the publication of comprehensive case studies and whitepapers, enriching the Ayurvedic knowledge base and advancing science. Ayurvedic experts consider the 2024 budget as an opportunity for a healthy and sustainable ecosystem, contributing not only to individual health but also to the nation’s growth, while preserving the ancient spirit of therapeutic tradition,” he added.

“All eyes are on India for the financial development that’s anticipated to scale the international investments within the nation. Being the final finances of the 2nd time period of the present Govt, we do count on large reforms and initiatives for transformative, large and sustainable future socio-economic development,” Sumit Kumar, Chief Strategy Officer, TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, said.

“The “Skill India”, “make in India” , “PLI”, “Ayush”, Infrastructure growth”, NEP”, “Gift City” and ‘Digital University” initiatives have led to enhancing skilling and education ecosystem; and employment generation. Considering the future jobs will be influenced by AI, we need to scale the reforms and initiatives to support the expected GDP of 7% and beyond to prepare India achieve $30 trillion economy by 2050,” Kumar stated.

“First and foremost, we need immediate reform in the Apprenticeship Act, which the Finance Minster has been referring to in last 2 budgets. We need more simplified system which is currently fragmented. Second, quota to be revised to 25% for organization that are contributing to net zero carbon emissions and hiring women apprentices. This is good for inclusive and sustainable growth,” he additional added.

“In 2024, important wage will increase are being deliberate for workers by Indian corporations, regardless of the worldwide financial slowdown. An roughly 9.8% wage bump is anticipated for workers, constructing on the noteworthy 10% improve noticed in 2023,” Uday Chawla, Managing Partner, TRANSEARCH India, said. 

“However, the optimistic outlook for salaried leaders is met with a challenge due to the high-income tax policies in India. Personal income tax, ranging from 5% to 37%, and additional charges contribute to a notable tax burden. In contrast, countries like Hong Kong (15%), Sri Lanka (18%), and Singapore (22%) feature more favourable tax systems, rendering them attractive for top-tier talent. As we now transition to remote working and the globalization of businesses, there is a tangible threat that senior talent may be attracted to relocate to countries that offer the most efficient tax structures and a superior work-life quality and balance,” Chawla, stated.

“Experts within the insurance coverage business are pushing for important changes in taxation, regulation, and expertise within the finances. They help decreasing the deductibility limits to supply tax advantages on life insurance coverage merchandise, particularly time period plans. One proposal is to decrease the GST fee on insurance coverage premiums. To enhance affordability, one other is to take away taxes from annuity returns to extend their enchantment. A composite licence, a rest of the minimal capital necessities, and the promotion of microinsurance for low-income populations are among the many regulatory expectations. Support for InsurTech companies and a cybersecurity emphasis are sought within the expertise sphere to encourage innovation and guard towards cyber risks, in the end encouraging ubiquitous, ingenious, and inexpensive insurance coverage,” Tejas Jain, Founder of BimaKavach – Insurance, stated.

“The actual property business stands as a cornerstone in India’s financial development, rising as one of many largest employment-generating sectors. The authorities ought to take into account augmenting allocations for infrastructure tasks to propel actual property development in city areas,” Amit Mishra, Co-Founder of 91Squarefeet – Real Estate, said. 

“Additionally, implementing a unified GST solution for real estate developers, enabling them to claim input tax credits for all construction materials, would not only lead to a reduction in property prices but also enhance transparency throughout the supply chain. Moreover, there is a pressing need to incentivize financial institutions to create a more conducive financing environment for both real estate developers and contractors. These measures would serve as catalysts for expediting real estate projects and fostering infrastructure development,” Mishra stated.

“A necessity for coverage help, like enhancing credit score assure schemes, offering liquidity help, and revisiting the RBI’s lending structure, is required. The authorities should transfer past rhetoric and actively implement measures to strengthen MSMEs. The credit score hole, particularly within the universe of enterprises with turnovers starting from 15 lakhs to fifteen crores, stands at a staggering 85,00,000 crores. For sustainable development, a steady injection of liquidity is crucial. While regulatory narratives have emphasised co-lending and banks chorus from lending on to NBFCs, it is essential to acknowledge that smaller and medium-sized NBFCs play a major position in credit score dissemination, significantly to the underserved,” Shachindra Nath, Founder & Managing Director, U GRO Capital, said.

“Emphasizing the formalization of MSMEs post-demonetization, GST, and digitization, the challenge now lies in ensuring access to credit for these entities. The government’s role in providing sovereign guarantees for deserving NBFCs, unlocking private equity support, and fostering a robust credit ecosystem is pivotal. As we delve into the budget discussions, let’s move beyond aspirations and translate them into tangible policies that fortify the backbone of our economy – the MSMEs,” Nath.

“This 12 months additionally, we expect a well-rounded and adequately funded psychological well being finances for 2024-2025 because it is not going to solely handle the present psychological well being challenges but additionally lay the muse for a resilient and mentally wholesome society. Since the psychological well being panorama is evolving, due to this fact it’s essential that our budgetary allocations replicate the rising significance of psychological well-being in our society,” Jyoti Kapoor, Founder & Director, Manasthali, said.

“The acceptance of mental health as a necessary aspect of health still needs to be highlighted through awareness and educational programs for the masses. We recommend a substantial increase in funding for mental health services, including awareness programs, outpatient care, counseling, and community-based programs. This will help bridge the existing gaps in access to mental health resources and ensure that individuals in need can readily avail themselves of essential services,” Kapoor added.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has already highlighted the effectiveness and accessibility of telehealth providers. Allocating sources to develop and enhance telehealth infrastructure for psychological well being consultations will improve entry for people in distant or underserved areas, in the end decreasing disparities in psychological well being care. As prevention is a key side of psychological well being care. Allocating funds to develop and implement instructional, early intervention and prevention packages in faculties, workplaces, and communities will contribute to decreasing the general burden of psychological well being points and fostering a more healthy inhabitants,” in accordance with Kapoor.

“In the final Union Budget, the general impetus for the healthcare supply sector was lacking. We are hoping that it will get addressed within the upcoming Union Budget with a rise in finances allocation to a minimal 5% of the GDP which is crucial to meet the necessity gaps,” Azad Moopen, Chairman and MD, Aster DM Healthcare, said.

Expanding Healthcare Access

“There is a need to have more hospitals and healthcare facilities in rural and suburban areas to meet the rising demand given that Ayushman Bharat is aiming to make affordable healthcare accessible for 500 million people. Hope the government will put more focus on public-private partnerships (PPP) to address this, and also permit 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in both Health Insurance and Retail Pharmacy sectors,” Moopen added.

NRI Concessions

“We have been additionally hoping for concessions for NRIs residing overseas like discount on TDS for individuals who have a supply of earnings in India and are required to pay taxes within the nation they reside in. Other concerns embody inexpensive airline fares to SAARC and GCC international locations to help the rising commerce and enterprise collaborations between the areas, together with the implementation of a well being scheme for these returning to India for retirement, amongst different useful measures,” he opined.

“The Indian dairy sector is about to develop by 6% by 2024. Dairy is certainly one of India’s largest agricultural commodities, accounting for about 5% of the nationwide financial system and straight participating over 8 crore farmers. India is a proud chief on the planet milk manufacturing market, however there are points going through our sector, particularly with rising feed and different uncooked materials prices that decrease yields. We hope that these essential points shall be addressed within the upcoming finances, which can embody insurance policies that reduce the affect of rising manufacturing prices whereas additionally sustaining development momentum. A well-thought-out and inspiring finances would certainly strengthen the cornerstone of our dairy business, guaranteeing a robust and affluent future for the sector and the tens of millions of farmers it helps,” Ravin Saluja, director, Nova Dairy.

Alcoholic liquor for human consumption is outdoors the purview of GST. However, State Governments levy Excise & VAT on the identical, as per Vikram Kulkarni, Partner, Indirect Tax, BDO India.

Kulkarni stated that the alcobev business is trying ahead to the Union Budget 2024 and anticipating measures which might be useful to business. Some of the urgent points affecting the Industry are as below:

1.    The GST council in its 52nd assembly on 7 October 2023 had accepted exclusion of Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) from GST. However, the federal government has not issued any notification to grant this exemption. The business eagerly awaits the identical as it might assist cut back the prices to massive extent.

2.    The business has been demanding for a very long time to incorporate alcoholic liquor for human consumption, below the GST purview. This would deliver this business at par with the opposite industries and in addition cut back the fee burden on account of non availability of ITC on inward provides.

“We anticipate the finances will introduce measures to advertise and incentivize the evolving area of ‘road safety solution providers’.  We sit up for the Union Budget 2024 as a possibility for the federal government to strengthen its dedication to technological progress and street security,” Durgadutt Nedungadi, Senior VP at Netradyne, stated.

“The Union finances for 2024-2025 ought to reaffirm two main targets, growing authorities funding in infrastructure and growing shopper demand by putting more cash in customers’ palms,” Mayank Shah, Vice-President, Parle Products, said.

“Almost all FMCG companies are seeing slowdown in rural demand. It has been muted over the past quarter. Hence to increase demand in these areas, more funding should be allocated to infrastructure, rural initiatives, and the agricultural sector. This will result in job creation and boost in consumer spending. We anticipate that in order to resurrect consumer demand, the government will put more money in the hands of consumers; this can likely be achieved by lowering taxes or raising tax slabs,” Shah added.

“In addition, we anticipate granting incentives to companies that provide more healthy choices to customers. In line with the federal government’s initiative of selling millets, the federal government ought to additional encourage corporations to launch more healthy choices containing millets. Currently merchandise containing greater than 75% millet are topic to decrease GST. Similarly extra incentives, nevertheless, will encourage companies to modify to creating more healthy merchandise,” in accordance with Shah.

“Most Indian taxpayers have the behavior of initially investing their financial savings in funding avenues that present tax deductions below Section 80C (i.e. INR 1,50,000). Additionally, the salaried class claims exemptions comparable to HRA, LTA and housing mortgage deductions. For a person incomes a wage earnings of INR 10 Lakhs, the previous regime is extra beneficial in case exemptions/deductions exceed ₹2,50,000. This scenario applies to most taxpayers resulting in acceptance of the New Tax Regime (NTR),” Preeti Sharma, Partner, Tax & Regulatory Services, BDO India, said.

“The New Tax Regime provides favourable results for taxpayers up to an income level of ₹7,50,000. To increase acceptance for NTR, the government should allow deductions under this regime, for say employee’s contribution to PF (under Section 80C) and employee’s contribution to NPS (under Section 80CCD). This would also promote the habit of building a retirement corpus for individuals,” Sharma added.

“We anticipate the interim finances to have some buyer-focused bulletins to spice up retail demand – India’s housing market had a windfall 12 months in 2023, however retail consumers continued to face challenges discovering honest worth on this asset class and the federal government must relook at growing the restrict on a few of the incentives given to home-buyers as a part of our tax legal guidelines comparable to HRA and curiosity deductions,” Shrey Aeren, Managing Director & Country Head, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Orenda India, said.

“On the supply front, we are seeing India’s biggest infrastructure push since independence, which has substantially boosted residential as well as commercial real estate demand with new cities being planned adjacent to existing metros such as Third Mumbai outside Mumbai and KHIR City in Bengaluru. We expect the full budget in July to continue providing the necessary impetus through policy and fiscal allocation,” Aeren added.

“The budgetary allocation for the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, encompassing Agricultural Education and Research, in the Union Budget 2023-24 amounted to approximately ₹1.25 lakh crore. Anticipating the upcoming budget, continuity in the allocation amount is expected, with no significant deviations,” CA Aditya Sesh, Member of the Expert Committee within the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare opined.

“These micro-level variations might embody reallocations for initiatives comparable to crop insurance coverage, the introduction of latest seed varieties, and techniques to mitigate fluctuations in fertilizer availability. In mild of the election season, it is usually cheap to anticipate changes to the Minimum Support Price (MSP), significantly for key commodities comparable to wheat and rice. There is a chance of an upward revision within the allocation for crop insurance coverage,” he further added.

“Notably, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi will see an increase to 8000 per year as minimum income support. This is because the GDP growth has been better than expected which gives the government the headroom to contain the Fiscal deficit,” Sesh stated.

“In this dynamic panorama, we encourage insurance policies that bolster indigenous semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. The bulletins by world gamers to put money into Gujarat spotlight the sector’s potential and the necessity for a conducive coverage atmosphere. We imagine that the finances needs to be a catalyst for nurturing innovation, analysis, and ability growth, significantly in frontier applied sciences like synthetic intelligence, 5G/6G networks and renewable power,” Vivek Tyagi, Managing Director, Analog Devices Inc India, said.

“As the world embraces the integration of 5G technologies, AI-enabled solutions and sustainable practices, we look to the budget to provide a strategic framework that not only navigates current challenges but also sets the stage for India’s emergence as a global technology and innovation hub. In essence, the forthcoming budget represents a pivotal opportunity for India to fortify its position on the global stage, and Analog Devices Inc remains committed to contributing to this transformative journey,” Tyagi added.

“We count on the federal government to allocate extra funding in the direction of growing a strong and safe IT ecosystem within the nation. The authorities has already launched a number of initiatives to advertise the expansion of the IT and ITES sector, such because the National Policy on Software Products and the Innovation Fund for Women Entrepreneurs. More funding allotted for it will guarantee coaching and mentorship alternatives; we hope to see extra women-led start-ups emerge as key gamers within the business. Additionally, there needs to be an Innovation Fund for AI Innovations that may promote the event of cutting-edge applied sciences and platforms that may speed up digital transformation throughout varied sectors, together with well being, finance, and training. We urge the federal government to put money into analysis and growth and supply incentives for AI start-ups to thrive and innovate,” Srividya Kannan, Founder and CEO, Avaali Solutions, stated.

Gyanendra Tripathi, Partner & Leader, Western Region, Indirect Tax, BDO India: “The automotive sector at present has probably the most complicated tax construction with a number of customs duties (starting from 7.5 p.c to one hundred pc primary customs; GST starting from 12 to twenty-eight p.c and Compensation cess starting from 0 to 22 p.c). Some stage of fee rationalization is anticipated to scale back the interpretative points and litigations. The Electric Vehicles (EVs) business has been representing for a discount within the GST fee on components/ elements used within the manufacture of EVs (attracting GST at 18 p.c / 28 p.c) in addition to on batteries (leviable to 18 p.c GST) to five p.c. This would handle the present problem of the buildup of enter tax credit (ITC) by EV producers. In addition, the EV business can also be on the lookout for an extension of FAME subsidies, readability of tax therapy on EV charging, eligibility of ITC on organising of the charging stations, and a GST fee discount on entry-level two-wheelers. Lastly, the auto part producers are on the lookout for a uniform tax fee on the components, ideally, 18 p.c, to keep away from disputes arising from differential charges of tax.