CHENNAI: As Nirmala Sitharaman gears up to present Budget 2023 on February 1, Tamil Nadu industrialists hope to see a spurt in government investments in infrastructure projects, continuity in tax structures and extension of benefits under the production-linked incentives (PLI) scheme.
TNIE asked some of the top businessmen in the state what they would like to see in the budget proposals. They were unanimous in seeking liquidity support and tax/export benefits, and increased investment in infrastructure projects by the government.
"The cement industry has been severely affected by an unprecedented rise in the cost of fuel. The expectation of the cement industry of lower fuel cost is not something domestic," says N Srinivasan, MD, India Cements.
In a response to TNIE’s query, CK Ranganathan, chairman and managing director of CavinKare, focused on investments in the infrastructure sector.
“The government should increase investments in large-scale infrastructure projects such as road and rail networks, power plants, etc. This will create economic opportunities for all industries.”
He urged the state to reduce the import cost of inputs and raw materials for fast-moving consumer goods firms.
Meanwhile, YS Chakravarti, MD and CEO of Shriram Finance, is worried about the surge in the cost of borrowing. He said an effective liquidity augmentation framework will help the non-banking finance companies industry in effectively managing resources.
“The government must bring in more tax exemptions for the sector as opposed to the current scenario where it is merged with the Section 80C of the I-T exemption law along with other investments,” said Casparus Kromhout, MD and CEO of Shriram Life Insurance Company. He added a focus on reducing tax on annuity plans would be a welcome move.
Exporters want the government to hike budgeted allocation for PLI by at least 20-30%. To bring in ease of doing business, they requested for a reduction in tax cost on service exports by global capability centres, and exemption to foreign shareholders in case of mergers and demergers.
Speaking for the emerging private space sector, Awais Ahmed, founder and CEO of Pixxel Space, a space-tech startup, believes the extension of PLI for the space sector would create a tech supply chain within the country and promote private participation. He explained investments coming through the government route (RBI) take six to 12 months for approval. “Given the lack of growth-stage investors, liberalising the sector will attract capital,” he said.