From startups to real estate, here is what various sectors expect from the Union budget

With February 1 right around the corner, all eyes lie on the upcoming Union budget and its presenter, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. With the announcement being merely two days away, expectations are on the rise about what the mighty pre-election year budget could bring for each stratum of the economy. Let us take a look at some of these expectations. 

While most budgets rolled out in the pre-election year tend to incline towards the general public, this year’s budget could also focus on investments in infrastructure development, according to Senior Vice President of financial firm Aranca, Avinash G Singh. “We believe the government will present a growth-focused spending plan, maintaining the impetus on investments in infrastructure development. We, therefore, see the road, railway, and urban infrastructure sectors to see meaningful allocation as the significant beneficiaries of the budget. In addition, we expect healthcare, education, and rural housing to be the other major sectors likely to benefit from increased allocation of funds,” he said. 

After India’s real estate sector bid adieu to a successful 2022 that yielded a 50% surge in residential housing sales compared to 2021, leaders in the industry look forward and hope that the budget addresses key concerns like granting the real estate sector industry status, rationalizing the GST rates for brokerage services, etc.

“Consumers are facing a bit of pressure due to rising interest rates and would like some relief. The industry is showing signs of life, but growth is uneven and unpredictable due to disruptions. We would like to get more support to keep investing in sector growth,” said Ashish Kukreja, the founder and CEO of Homesfy.

In the railway sector, regular travellers hope for nothing more than a focus on cleanliness and safety. A passenger at the Patna junction shared his idea and expectations stating that the railway fares need to be controlled. "The Railways should see that train fares don't go up. Also, the fare increases over the last few years should be controlled and the rate of platform tickets has been reduced from Rs 50 to Rs 10, we want it to be reduced further," said MD Sanjay, a passenger at the Patna junction, ANI reported. On the other hand, homemakers remain anxious as inflation rises, butchering their household budget. Going forward they hope for some relaxation in the prices of food staples and  LPG cylinders. 

Startups and MSME sector expectations

India’s startup sector also remains hopeful for some support after it faced a slew of challenges, from the pandemic to the energy and supply chain crisis. “For the startups, the winters came in early. The equity funding dried up, forcing startups to look at cutting costs (read – employee costs), to extend their runway. The investors did not totally disappear; they altered their approach to offer venture debt. Despite that, Startups battled the "funding crunch,” said Ethique Advisory founder and business coach Ratish Pandey, who added that “one is hopeful that Government will continue the announced support packages for another year to keep the momentum going.”

Leaders of the MSME sector, which is prone to face challenges like inflationary pressure, hope “that the government extends the support packages for at least another year,” Pandey said, listing the expectations of the sector- an increase in adoption of e-commerce and lesser interest rates by the end of 2023.