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Video Editor: Ashutosh Bhardwaj
The countdown to the Union Budget 2021 has begun. On Monday, 1 February, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is going to present her third, and one of the most important, budgets.
A budget that comes on the back of the devastation caused to the economy, people’s lives, and livelihoods by the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdown.
Citizens across class and sectors are hoping for relief packages, tax deductions, and liquidity infusion in the market, which will not only put cash in hand but also boost the recovery process.
The April-June quarter of FY 2020-21 saw the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contraction of 23.9 percent followed by negative growth of 7.5 percent in the next quarter. The government did disburse Rs 20 lakh crore to revive the economy but was that enough for a poor country of 1.3 billion people?
Salaried, middle-class community, which is one of the major contributors to the economy, is expecting a deduction on the existing tax demands by the government.
GST simplification and exemption of fine over Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been a long pending demand of both small businesses and big corporates.
Many businesses that have recorded the biggest losses in their lifetimes are expecting that their fines over delay in payment of taxes will be exempted.
Small retail businesses demand fixation of Market Operating Price (MOP) as they say they are unable to compete with online business giants like Amazon and Flipkart.
The biggest contributor to the economy, India’s salaried and middle class, has a whole list of expectations from the Budget. A class that saw major job losses and business failures, has its eyes hooked at the finance minister, expecting relief in Income Tax and standard deductions in their salaries.
Priyam Dutta, a manager at a housing company in Bengaluru, expects relaxation in taxes on severance pay.
The infrastructure or realty sector was already bleeding even before the pandemic, due to the lack of funds. It virtually died during the pandemic.
Hoping for revival, the realty sector is expecting the liquidity crunch to be addressed, higher tax relief for home buyers, and its addition to the priority lending list of banks.
With private education getting more and more expensive, the community of students expects that the government will increase its expenditure in the education sector.
Girls dropping out of schools and colleges has remained India’s unsolved problem for decades. One-half of the population expects that the government will include provisions in the Budget that would target girls’ education specifically.
Even though the annual budget is a statement of accounts and not every problem can be solved through the budget, it surely presents an important stage to make a statement that can inspire confidence.
Will the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman deliver on her promises? We will have to wait till 11 am, 1 February.
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