NEW DELHI: The 5th edition of The Times of India's Right To Excellence decoded the interim Budget on Sunday. The Budget Masterclass summit brought together experts, industry leaders and policymakers to analyze and deconstruct the interim Budget presented by the Union finance minister
Nirmala Sitharaman
.
Former CEO of Niti Aayog and G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, author and former CEO of P&G India, Gurcharan Das,
Shashank Srivastava
, Senior Executive Director at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd,
Urvashi Prasad
, Director, Niti Aayog and experts from KPMG, PwC and Deloitte were some of the key speakers who shared their views on the Budget, tax planning, economic growth and economic policies of India.
Talking about the rise of India on a global level, Amitabh Kant said, “Firstly, there’s a lot of positivity, there’s a lot of energy, and I feel there’s a lot of feel-good factor about India, not merely because we’re the 5th largest economy in the world and heading to be the 3rd largest economy in the world by 2027 end. If we’re able to sustain this on a continuous basis, we should aim to become a $35 trillion economy by 2047.”
Speaking about the Budget, Gurcharan Das, said, “I’m a great fan of Nirmala Sitharaman, because in the last 4 Budgets including this one, there’s been a single-minded focus on infrastructure spending, capex, these are the job creators. I hope that spirit will continue no matter who comes to power.”
Talking about India's growth rate, senior bureaucrat and state Election Commissioner of Rajasthan,
Madhukar
Gupta, said, "Earlier, when western economists used to talk about India, they used to only talk about the 'Hindu rate of growth". The story has slowly changed, but we are not there yet. If we have to become a $5 trillion economy by 2030, we need to grow at a higher rate.
"We need to shift gears but at the same time be mindful about its consequences for our country," Madhukar added.
In a panel discussion about strategies of India's economic revitalization, director of Niti Aayog, Urvashi Prasad, said that one of the major challenges that still needs to be addressed is the inequities that still exist between the states.
She further said that the country is going through the green transition, which actually puts a lot of challenges on its economy. On one hand, the centre is asking states to develop at a faster rate, while on the other hand, we are also trying to tell them to do it sustainably.
Talking about mental health, she said that the government is trying to strengthen its mental health care program by catering to different facilities to different age groups.
The Masterclass also examined the impact of Budget on the automobile industry. During one such panel discussion where the conversation veered towards sustainability, Shashank Srivastava said, “Sustainability in the auto sector will be driven not just by consumer preferences but also by government policies. It’s a realization that as far as the environment is concerned, we need to have lower emissions. That is why the government has also specified very strict emission norms, which means the choice of technology would be towards more sustainable power trains.”
See full video here
English (US) ·