Economic Survey 2018 highlights: 50% surge in indirect taxpayers due to GST

BUDGET 2018 – India’s economy should grow between 7 per cent and 7.5 per cent in 2018/19 (April-March) with exports and private investment set to rebound, the Economic Survey 2018, which was presented on Monday, said.

The survey, which sets the stage for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s annual Budget on Thursday, forecast that economic management will be challenging in the coming year.

The survey was prepared by the finance ministry’s Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, who estimates that gross domestic product will have grown 6.75 per cent in the current fiscal year ending in March.

Highlights of the Economic Survey, 2017-18, tabled in Parliament on Monday:

i) Economic growth pegged at 7-7.5 per cent for FY’19.

ii) The growth to be higher at 6.75 per cent in FY’18 than advance estimates of 6.5 per cent.

Budget 2018: Start-up ecosystem should get a boost to revive investments

BUDGET 2018 – Various path-breaking initiatives and policy reforms implemented in 2017 by the Narendra Modi-led central government have already paved the way for a New India by 2022. The year 2018 has started on strong footing, with a positive momentum driving growth across different sectors of the economy, especially since the execution dust of demonetisation and goods and services tax (GST) implementation has almost settled.

Now, some push in the right direction by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the upcoming Union Budget 2018-19 will set the stage for a strong business environment for start-ups in the key areas of the economy like commercial real estate.

In 2018, the retail sector is expected to show higher returns in the Indian real estate market. Institutional investments in commercial real estate will be on an upsurge and shared workplaces will continue to grow with flexible leasing structures. Since the government has set ambitious targets with the Start-up India initiative, we are sure that the Indian start-up ecosystem will revive the demand for investments to generate jobs and accelerate economic growth in the medium term.

Budget 2018 issues: After note ban, tax base, digital drive up, realty down

BUDGET 2018 – On 8 November, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes citing black money, corruption, terror funding as threats to the country.

The immediate impact of the note-ban drive on economy was ambiguous at the beginning, considering the fact that the goalpost on its objective was gradually shifted. However, a spin-off from demonetisation has been the overall increased emphasis on digital transactions and that channel has seen a multi-fold growth, along with new additions made in the tax-payers list.

Budget 2018: Time’s running out for Modi to shore up rural voters’ support

BUDGET 2018 – More than 60 people in Dhamaka, a village of about 230 families some 80 kilometers (50 miles) from India’s capital New Delhi, have received notices threatening to auction their fields. Singh urgently wants Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to provide debt relief, better prices for his crops and jobs for his sons when it unveils the annual fiscal budget on Feb. 1.

“I don’t know how to escape from this crisis,” Singh, 62, said this month while showing the notice to immediately repay Rs 247,296 ($3,886) he owes to the bank. While he previously voted for Modi, he’s unsure who will get his vote in the next national poll due early next year.

Time is running out for Modi to shore up the support of rural voters who underpinned his rise to power in 2014, when he won India’s biggest mandate in three decades. The budget will be the last opportunity for him to announce significant fiscal measures that could win back villagers like Singh.

Budget 2018: How Jaitley can help recycling sector create millions of jobs

BUDGET 2018 – The Indian financial system is seeing a extensive-based totally improvement throughout numerous sectors and is on course for a sturdy increase. but, as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley prepares finances 2018, the remaining full price range of the Narendra Modi led government earlier than the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, one foremost undertaking for the authorities in the Union finances 2018-19 could be making sure the advent of latest jobs and retaining the economic balance.

We agree with that the metal recycling and standard recycling industry can create tens of millions of jobs inside the country. The chinese authorities has put recycling as its pinnacle priority in its 5-yr Plan. It has created recycling parks and zones in the usa to enhance the industry.

via comparison, the recycling sector here in India has been neglected for a long term. now’s time for our authorities to present a specific choice to the sector, which promises to not best keep the surroundings however also create thousands and thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

Budget 2018: India’s renewable progress is slipping, after record growth

BUDGET 2018 – Consistent with its climate-alternate commitments and domestic pollution concerns, India has one of the world’s largest programmes to increase renewables–a tripling of potential over the following five years.

but after two years of report growth, the diversion of a countrywide smooth-electricity cess to subsidise GST (items and offerings tax)-brought on losses and a brand new import duty to defend home producers of solar device threaten to derail India’s ambitious 2022 goal.

this is why February 1, 2018–the day the ruling Bharatiya Janata birthday celebration (BJP) will gift its ultimate complete price range earlier than the 2019 standard elections–is of specific importance to the renewables area, which comprises power from sun, wind, hydro and bio electricity.

those are the issues the finances must take care of: India has neglected every year renewable enlargement targets when you consider that 2016; no extra than 29% of the smooth power cess–a major supply for funding renewables inside the usa–has been spent over six years, with Rs 56,seven hundred crore diverted in 2017 to subsidise GST losses; a brand new import duty on solar modules from China, Taiwan and Malaysia threatens to boom manufacturing prices and record low solar tariffs; and the agricultural terrible may additionally leave out a renewables task boom, if a group of workers can not be taught.

Budget 2018: Cut Deficit, Lift Capex – Next Year’s Budget Goal

India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is likely to deliver mostly good news on fiscal consolidation when he unveils next year’s budget on Feb. 1. The government is set to overshoot its deficit target in the current year through March, largely due to lower dividend payments from the central bank. The proposed Budget 2018 for fiscal 2019 though, will look better — for deficit reduction and investment plans.

The consensus view is that Jaitley has to choose between two competing goals: either purse its aim to cut the deficit to 3% of GDP, or boost investment needed to spur growth and reduce bottlenecks in the economy — not both. Bloomberg Economics’ view is that the trade-off isn’t so stark. Sales of government-owned assets and increased revenue from goods and services tax reform mean Jaitley should be able to net sufficient revenue to meet both objectives.

BE expects the budget deficit to come in at 3.4% of GDP in fiscal 2018, down from 3.5% in the previous year. That would exceed the government’s target of 3.2%, reflecting lower-than-expected revenue as demonetization squeezed profits of the Reserve Bank of India and the GST dented growth. That would still be within a relaxed limit of 3.5% of GDP afforded by a review committee that gave the government more wiggle room on account of those major structural reforms. And for the year starting in April, the government should be able to stick to its original target for a deficit of 3% of GDP, as the reforms clear the way for faster growth and stricter compliance — improving tax buoyancy.

Budget 2018: This is why Maharashtra’s drought woes are likely to continue

BUDGET 2018 – In lots of approaches, the Lendi irrigation project near the Andhra Pradesh-Maharashtra border continues to be a prime example of the excruciating delays which have plagued irrigation projects in India.

Conceived in 1987, this predominant irrigation project turned into to be completed in 1992. The assignment involved constructing a dam on the Lendi river to shop over 6 trillion cubic metres of water before it joined the Manjira river, a tributary of the Godavari, the most important river of peninsular India. The mission being completed by using the Godavari Marathwada Irrigation improvement employer Ltd became at the beginning envisaged to be constructed on the price of half a billion rupees. but in 2016, government similarly pushed the completion date to 2020 with a revised price of Rs 14 billion. If the challenge is completed after 28 years of delay, it’ll be part of 16 different such irrigation tasks in Maharashtra that have been placing fire for over  decades. a lot of these projects are inside the excessive drought-hit regions of Vidarbha and Marathwada in the state.

This shouldn’t were lots of a bother for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who receives set to give his government’s final full-fledged finances on February 1, 2018. however the truth that such behind schedule tasks dot Maharashtra could truly rankle the finance minister. records sourced from his ministry indicates that these multi-decade delays in finishing minor and major irrigation tasks throughout Maharashtra have value the government a whole lot of cash through the years. Out of a total of 29 irrigation tasks underneath construction in the country, 16 are delayed with huge time lags. these tasks that ought to have been completed at an expected cost of Rs 9 billion will now end up costing more than Rs 50 billion. And the destiny of those anticipated to be commissioned in 2018 nevertheless stays doubtful.

Budget 2018 must address these key issues to boost investment in infra

As India’s Finance Minister is days away from presenting Budget 2018, there are two key issues that he must address to boost investment and growth in the country. They are: Non-tax revenues from land bank monetisation of public institutions, and full tax-exempt status for income from debt instruments issued by Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) in India.

The budget must pay attention to non-tax sources of revenues especially with a view to partially monetising the land banks of large public institutions such as the Indian Railways and the Airport Authority of India (AAI).

Land bank monetisation solves two core problems for India — lack of available land for infrastructure and lack of financing for infrastructure. It also leads to productive use of an asset of great value that is lying idle. Land utilised for infrastructure will be land that will be used for productive purposes and therefore will create jobs, a much-needed requirement for a young and growing population.

Budget 2018: Steps to Stimulate the Manufacturing Sector

India’s recent soar of 30 positions on the benefit of doing commercial enterprise ranking via the sector financial institution is surely a welcome fashion. but nonetheless tons has to be completed; further reduce in pink tape, taking up hard reforms and identifying and disposing of bottlenecks are just a number of the steps which might be had to further cement India’s position as a beneficial and possible funding destination. A vibrant manufacturing zone is a need to for a vibrant economy and finances 2018 affords the FM with a completely unique opportunity to similarly push for reforms and improve the producing area. inside the past the government has said that it desires and expects 25% of the India’s GDP to come back from the producing sector via the year 2022, up from the current 16%. also under the PM Narendra Modi‘s Make in India scheme the authorities expects that the manufacturing sector will create 10 crore jobs by 2020. although in India the manufacturing sector has grown over the years but the growth has been slower while compared to the opponents within the neighborhood. by way of 2020, it’s far expected that India will become the 5th largest manufacturing hub within the world. For India’s production quarter to compete and outshine the likes of China a whole lot work will be required by way of the government within the Budget 2018-19.