Budget leaves much to be desired: NRIs
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Ganesh Muthiah
MUSCAT Non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the Sultanate have welcomed India's annual budget terming it positive for the country but were disappointed over its failure to address the concerns of overseas Indians.
"Overall it is a growth-oriented budget. But the government of India has ignored the welfare and protection of Gulf-based Indian workers. There is no mention about the exclusive fund for NRI returnees, who lost their jobs in the wake of the economic recession," members of the expatriate Indian community said.
Oman Tribune spoke to a cross-section of the community to seek their views.
Excerpts:
VT Saileswaran, managing director, Apollo Medical Centre (AMC), Muscat: Overall, the budget is positive. It will encourage NRIs to invest in India. The stable government and strong economic policies will propel the growth. The government's move to introduce new slabs on personal income tax is certain to benefit a large section of tax-payers who would now have to pay less income tax.
Sridhar Chinnasami, general manager, Shanfari Readymix: It is a growth-oriented budget which has a conventional approach, increasing duties for luxury items like ACs, luxury cars and so on. On the other hand, education and infrastructure projects like power and road construction at 20km per day are quite intriguing. Reduced home loan rates will definitely encourage the middle class to get a roof of their own. Specific importance on reducing import duties on magnetron components, used in microwave ovens, has taken me by surprise after noticing the major power shortage. However, the rising food price issue has not been fully addressed. The decision to not increase the passenger fares in the railway budget is a welcome step. The stock market has reacted positively and the growth trend in all segments is expected to continue. The unorganised sector will certainly benefit from public fund contributions that give help to social security benefits.
Dr Anchan CK, Towell Solutions: Perhaps, it would be better to call it an 'OK budget'. The expectations from the people in India as well as the NRIs had been very high. But considering the difficult circumstances and the state of the global economy, one could say that it is OK. I strongly feel that there should have been more focus on manufacturing industry. Rural development, particularly agriculture, would have gone a long way in the creation of more wealth and more employment opportunities. The other aspect is the higher cost of doing business, which of course will affect the consumers.
Rajiv Ahuja, head, corporate communications, Khimjis: Judging from past budgets, I must say that whenever there was an increase in petroleum prices, marginal or otherwise, it has always had a spiralling effect on prices. This spiralling effect in the long run always affects the common man. From that point of view, this is definitely an anti-populist budget, which perhaps may not augur well for the Indian government. In fact, this could prove to be risky and politically damaging. The Indian government is looking at growth, but has not taken stock of the ground realities.
Mohammed Sajid Khan, country manager-Oman, ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants): I think the budget is realistic and judiciously balanced. The focus on fiscal consolidation is good in the long run. It is good to see continued focus on infrastructure. There have been steps to increase spending in healthcare, schools, infrastructure, roads and rural power sector. The focus on renewable energy as well as the fund for developing technology in clean energy are all encouraging. With thrust on infrastructure in rural areas and focus on agricultural growth, the farm sector may witness a growth of 6-7 per cent next year and add one per cent to the GDP in FY-II.
It remains to be seen what happens to the direct tax code, which had created a lot of uncertainty. In addition, the amount of divestment that is being talked about is also good as it brings in more retail money to capital markets. While the revised tax slabs will leave more money with the consumers, on the other hand they might end up paying more with the hike in fuel prices leading to overall price hike. With the rise in the price of petroleum products, the prices of all commodities will rise further.
Madhusudhanan EG, senior marketing manager, Decorstone International: The budget has good and bad recommendations for the common man. The government has focused on disinvestment. This is a welcome step. However, to increase its revenue, the government should have taken some more steps to collect taxes, which are not being collected. In terms of tax slabs, the budget is really good. If the government can ensure the collection of taxes from all, it will definitely increase the revenue of the government, which could be spent on development works.
The increase in oil prices in the international market should not be used as a tool to increase the fuel price.
Ratheesan K, administration manager, Hassan Ali Engineering Consultancy: The budget is disappointing for the NRIs. The expatriates have been ignored totally. The government, which has been talking of an exclusive fund for NRI returnees, who had lost their employment in the wake of the global recession, has left out the issue completely from the budget.
PJ Mani, business development manager, Modern Velocity Infotech:
The budget is a good one. It has taken care of the salaried taxpayers by increasing the income tax limit. It has allocated more funds for infrastructure development, which is very essential so that in the coming years India will have a good infrastructure in comparison with other countries. The funds allocated for school education also has got an increase. This is a welcome sign. The increase in excise duty only by two per cent is a positive factor and higher excise duty on tobacco products is indirect way of asking people to stop smoking. It is advisable to increase excise duty to higher levels on tobacco products in such a way that people would be wary in buying cigarette and other tobacco-based products.
Overall, the budget is good with a deficit target of 5.5 per cent of the GDP.
(Inputs by Oommen John P, David Solomon and Faizul Haque)
"Overall it is a growth-oriented budget. But the government of India has ignored the welfare and protection of Gulf-based Indian workers. There is no mention about the exclusive fund for NRI returnees, who lost their jobs in the wake of the economic recession," members of the expatriate Indian community said.
Oman Tribune spoke to a cross-section of the community to seek their views.
Excerpts:
VT Saileswaran, managing director, Apollo Medical Centre (AMC), Muscat: Overall, the budget is positive. It will encourage NRIs to invest in India. The stable government and strong economic policies will propel the growth. The government's move to introduce new slabs on personal income tax is certain to benefit a large section of tax-payers who would now have to pay less income tax.
Sridhar Chinnasami, general manager, Shanfari Readymix: It is a growth-oriented budget which has a conventional approach, increasing duties for luxury items like ACs, luxury cars and so on. On the other hand, education and infrastructure projects like power and road construction at 20km per day are quite intriguing. Reduced home loan rates will definitely encourage the middle class to get a roof of their own. Specific importance on reducing import duties on magnetron components, used in microwave ovens, has taken me by surprise after noticing the major power shortage. However, the rising food price issue has not been fully addressed. The decision to not increase the passenger fares in the railway budget is a welcome step. The stock market has reacted positively and the growth trend in all segments is expected to continue. The unorganised sector will certainly benefit from public fund contributions that give help to social security benefits.
Dr Anchan CK, Towell Solutions: Perhaps, it would be better to call it an 'OK budget'. The expectations from the people in India as well as the NRIs had been very high. But considering the difficult circumstances and the state of the global economy, one could say that it is OK. I strongly feel that there should have been more focus on manufacturing industry. Rural development, particularly agriculture, would have gone a long way in the creation of more wealth and more employment opportunities. The other aspect is the higher cost of doing business, which of course will affect the consumers.
Rajiv Ahuja, head, corporate communications, Khimjis: Judging from past budgets, I must say that whenever there was an increase in petroleum prices, marginal or otherwise, it has always had a spiralling effect on prices. This spiralling effect in the long run always affects the common man. From that point of view, this is definitely an anti-populist budget, which perhaps may not augur well for the Indian government. In fact, this could prove to be risky and politically damaging. The Indian government is looking at growth, but has not taken stock of the ground realities.
Mohammed Sajid Khan, country manager-Oman, ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants): I think the budget is realistic and judiciously balanced. The focus on fiscal consolidation is good in the long run. It is good to see continued focus on infrastructure. There have been steps to increase spending in healthcare, schools, infrastructure, roads and rural power sector. The focus on renewable energy as well as the fund for developing technology in clean energy are all encouraging. With thrust on infrastructure in rural areas and focus on agricultural growth, the farm sector may witness a growth of 6-7 per cent next year and add one per cent to the GDP in FY-II.
It remains to be seen what happens to the direct tax code, which had created a lot of uncertainty. In addition, the amount of divestment that is being talked about is also good as it brings in more retail money to capital markets. While the revised tax slabs will leave more money with the consumers, on the other hand they might end up paying more with the hike in fuel prices leading to overall price hike. With the rise in the price of petroleum products, the prices of all commodities will rise further.
Madhusudhanan EG, senior marketing manager, Decorstone International: The budget has good and bad recommendations for the common man. The government has focused on disinvestment. This is a welcome step. However, to increase its revenue, the government should have taken some more steps to collect taxes, which are not being collected. In terms of tax slabs, the budget is really good. If the government can ensure the collection of taxes from all, it will definitely increase the revenue of the government, which could be spent on development works.
The increase in oil prices in the international market should not be used as a tool to increase the fuel price.
Ratheesan K, administration manager, Hassan Ali Engineering Consultancy: The budget is disappointing for the NRIs. The expatriates have been ignored totally. The government, which has been talking of an exclusive fund for NRI returnees, who had lost their employment in the wake of the global recession, has left out the issue completely from the budget.
PJ Mani, business development manager, Modern Velocity Infotech:
The budget is a good one. It has taken care of the salaried taxpayers by increasing the income tax limit. It has allocated more funds for infrastructure development, which is very essential so that in the coming years India will have a good infrastructure in comparison with other countries. The funds allocated for school education also has got an increase. This is a welcome sign. The increase in excise duty only by two per cent is a positive factor and higher excise duty on tobacco products is indirect way of asking people to stop smoking. It is advisable to increase excise duty to higher levels on tobacco products in such a way that people would be wary in buying cigarette and other tobacco-based products.
Overall, the budget is good with a deficit target of 5.5 per cent of the GDP.
(Inputs by Oommen John P, David Solomon and Faizul Haque)
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Ganesh Muthiah
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