14th July, 2014, Kolkata: The third edition
of the annual post-budget analysis session, Budget Plus 3.0, was organized at the Indian
Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) Kolkata. The esteemed discussion panel
included Dr. Ranajoy Bhattacharyya, Professor of
Economics, IIFT; Dr. Saikat Sinha Roy, Associate
Professor of Economics, Jadavpur University; Mr. Akash Mansinka, Manager-Tax
and Regulatory Services, EY and Mr. Pankaj Agarwal, Manager-Indirect Tax, EY.
The discussion was moderated by Dr. Bibek Ray Chaudhuri, Assistant Professor of Economics, IIFT.
Dr. K. Rangarajan, Professor of Strategy and Centre Head, IIFT Kolkata welcomed all
dignitaries and stated how the budget is indicative of the direction of the
Indian economy. He added that IIFT has invited academicians, faculty and
industry experts to have a diverse discussion on the budget.
Members of InFINeeti, the quarterly finance and business magazine, IIFT gave an enlightening presentation on the key highlights of the budget.
It was a succinct overview, throwing light on the various schemes and initiatives
taken by the Government. Dr. Chaudhuri started the proceedings and spoke on how he looked
forward to the economy getting back on track with “higher growth, stable
inflation and prudent policy system”, although the double-digit Consumer Price Index
was still a major concern.
Dr. Saikat Sinha Roy stated the
economy has not been performing well for the past few years. The trust of the
investors in the economy needs to be restored. According to him, the budget “is
a document of intent”. The current government manifesto included the need for
an overhaul of infrastructure. Conception of ‘100 smart cities’ is a step in
this direction. According to him, the implementation of the flagship scheme of
the previous government, MNREGA, needs to be relooked.
Mr. Akash Mansinka discussed
about direct tax and said that subsidies should be phased out “for the Indian economy
to compete with other economies”. Although the current government is perceived
to be industry friendly, yet retrospective taxes have not been removed. Mr. Pankaj
Agarwal spoke on indirect taxes and enlightened the gathering on how Service Tax,
though introduced only in 1994, garners the highest tax revenues for the
Government. He also pointed out the initiatives taken to incentivize the use of
renewable energy resources.
Dr. Ranajoy Bhattacharyya
took a different stance from the other panelists and remarked the Government
had missed the huge opportunity. Having been elected with an overwhelming mandate,
it was time to take few hard measures. According to him, the budget was “pure
eyewash”. He questioned the transparency of the Government and its attempt to
“surreptitiously reduce expenditure behind the scenes”, referring to the
reduction in the expenditure in Agriculture, Rural Development and Social
Sector.
Dr. Chaudhari succinctly
summarized key points of each speaker and connected them in context of the
entire discussion. After all speakers had spoken, the floor was thrown open to
the audience which comprised of students from IIFT.
The soon-to-be-managers proved
to be able listeners and had various questions ranging from the duration of the
long term capital gains to increase in FDI in the defence sector. Panelists
stated that such an increase would not have a significant impact due to the
highly capital intensive nature of the industry.
The discussion was concluded
with the consensus that the budget did fall short of certain expectations but
it presents an optimistic state of the economy. The impact of the budget can be
fully gauged when we meet next year for Budget Plus 4.0!
By Mohd Zeeshan
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