4 key areas Nirmala Sitharaman must focus on in her Budget 2019

Newly-appointed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her first Union Budget 2019 on July 05. It will be a challenging one for the first female finance minister of India, given the fragile state of the Indian economy, with slumping GDP numbers, sliding exports, increasing unemployment, and dire state of NBFCs.

Given the condition of the Indian economy, it is yet to see how Sitharaman will be able to fulfil expectations coming in from different sectors such as automobile, banking, and the middle class, and whether she’ll be able to impress with the maiden budget of Modi 2.0.

In order to present a remarkable budget, Sitharaman will have to focus on four key areas:

1. Corporate tax: India Inc has a long wishlist. Among other expectations, the corporate sector has called for reduction in corporate tax. Industry heads are expecting that the Modi 2.0 government will lower down the tax to 25% from 35%. It will help companies with cash flows and also encourage small industries to invest more, thereby, giving a boost to the economy.

2. Banking reforms: Consolidation of state-owned lenders and recapitalisation can give a push to the Indian economy. Bank recapitalisation can help the economy, and by doing so, the government can focus on infrastructure projects.

3. Middle class: The middle class is expecting some relief in Budget 2019. They have demanded for the basic slab to be raised to Rs 5 lakh, higher deduction limit under Section 80 (C) of the Income Tax slab and some respite in the LTCG tax also.

4. Agriculture: The government needs to provide incentives for processes that can improve yield. Also, it could expand the reach of the PMFBY and increase the MSP, in a bid to increase income in the hands of farmers.
Besides, there are several other areas where Sitharaman would have to focus to revive the Indian economy.

Decode the Budget and its impact on India with CNBC-TV18 The Budget Townhall 2019 on 6th July, 11 AM onwards. Follow the conversation using this hashtag on social media: #CNBCTV18BUDGETTOWNHALL.