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How the budget can deliver Viksit Bharat

ByAnish Shah
Jan 24, 2025 08:10 PM IST

Budget FY26 consultations stress tackling economic headwinds, while prioritizing Make in India, farm prosperity, sustainability, and women-led development.

In the run-up to Budget FY26, the government held a series of consultations with various stakeholders. The need for measures against headwinds facing the economy — growth and demand slowdown — was underscored. But India’s journey to becoming Viksit Bharat must remain the larger focus.

New Delhi, India - Feb. 1, 2024: Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of Finance along with Bhagwat Karad and Pankaj Chaudhary MOS Finance leaves the Finance Ministry carrying the Finance Budget ahead of the presentation of interim Budget 2024 in Parliament at North Block in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, February 1, 2024. (Photo by Sanchit Khanna/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times) PREMIUM
New Delhi, India - Feb. 1, 2024: Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of Finance along with Bhagwat Karad and Pankaj Chaudhary MOS Finance leaves the Finance Ministry carrying the Finance Budget ahead of the presentation of interim Budget 2024 in Parliament at North Block in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, February 1, 2024. (Photo by Sanchit Khanna/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Last year, Ficci identified four priority areas: Make in India, farm prosperity, sustainability, and women-led development. The government has already taken a series of measures in each of these areas, and we expect the upcoming budget to maintain this momentum. Let’s look at what more needs to be done.

There is a need to make India the factory of the world with a strong micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) engine, targeting raising our share in global manufacturing from 3.1% to 5% over the next few years. Reforms focusing on lowering costs and enhancing the ease of doing business are crucial for this. The government may consider the creation of inter-state platforms on the lines of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council as many reforms needed lie in the state and concurrent domains.

India must evolve as a product nation, which requires a deep focus on research and development (R&D). The introduction of an R&D innovation fund with a corpus of 1 lakh crore is significant. To ensure the effective utilisation of this fund and other similar schemes initiated by the government, the modalities of accessing such funds should be comprehensively reviewed through stakeholder consultations.

In agriculture, continued self-reliance, raising export share and value, and building climate resilience must be made the focus. A mission to improve farm yields in the bottom 100 districts, much like the aspirational districts programme, is needed. Additionally, a national programme to develop three million farm technicians over five years, to provide new technologies and services to farmers, can be considered. Each of India’s 600,000 villages could have five to six technicians who specialise in soil testing, micro irrigation, drones, sensors, farm machinery, post-harvest technologies, and in-village water supply systems. Apart from creating jobs and livelihoods, this will help improve the national average yield.

Various government policies and projects aim to drive the country towards a circular economy. The recent introduction of the green steel taxonomy is a welcome step towards decarbonisation. The push being given to electric vehicles and developing carbon markets is welcome, too. The upcoming budget may consider launching a Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage Mission to accelerate industrial decarbonisation. A national vision document could lay down the path to a circular economy, through clear goals, strategies and initiatives. The government bring climate adaptation and crisis mitigation activities under the Priority Sector Lending framework.

Finally, women-led growth can be accelerated by enhancing women’s participation in the workforce. The proposed setting up of working women hostels in collaboration with industry and establishing creches announced in the last Union Budget will facilitate greater participation of women in the workforce. The government could consider allowing CSR funds for setting these up. Further, the government may consider introducing a deduction from income tax up to a defined limit for working women for expenses incurred on childcare for children till the age of five. It is hoped that the upcoming budget pushes such an agenda for progress.

Anish Shah is immediate past president, Ficci, and group CEO and MD, Mahindra Group.The views expressed are personal

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