With India’s aspirations reaching $5 trillion, industry leaders from the power and electric sectors stress the pivotal role of the upcoming Union Budget 2024 in steering the nation’s economic trajectory.
Here’s a breakdown of their perspectives:
Harsh Shah, CEO, IndiGrid
As infrastructural development remains a cornerstone of economic progress, the upcoming Union Budget holds pivotal significance in steering India towards its $5 trillion economy milestone. InvITs hold a transformative potential in mobilizing private capital for infrastructure.
Through InvITs, democratic ownership of crucial assets has been facilitated, thanks to commendable efforts by the Ministry of Finance and SEBI. Yet, to fully unleash the potential of this investment avenue, some imperative policy enhancements include, classifying InvITs as equity instruments, expanding their participation in mainstream indices, and reducing the holding period for InvITs to 12 months for LTCG computation.
Other desired steps that can be considered are increasing investment limits for insurance companies, permitting EPFO to invest in InvITs, and allowing InvITs to bid for governments’ monetization pipeline under NMP. To conclude, there are positive expectations from the Budget for policy amendments and increased allocations that boost reform implementation.
Pranav Aggarwal, Director, Ledure Lightings
Ledure Lightings Limited, a prominent leader in the lighting sector, expects a revolutionary Union Budget 2024 that supports the expansion of the electrical industry. Our expectations center on encouraging innovation, maintaining sustainable practices, and creating a favorable fiscal climate. To ensure a greener and more resource-efficient future, we implore the government to take strong action in supporting research and development in energy-efficient technologies.
Moreover, a more straightforward tax code and expedited regulatory procedures will facilitate business dealings and create a climate that is favorable for industry participants. Initiatives that support domestic manufacturing are something we look forward to, as they support the ‘Make in India’ objective and help create jobs.
We wish for policies that promote energy conservation and incentives for environmentally friendly items in keeping with the global trend toward sustainable practices. The workforce in the electrical industry will become even more empowered if skill development programs are prioritized.
According to Ledure Lightings Limited, a budget that is in line with these ideas will not only spur economic growth but also open the door for the Indian electrical industry to have a robust and sustainable future.
Maanav Sagar, Partner at Bharat Founders Fund
Given India’s heavy reliance on Coal and other carbon fuel sources, I am keen to see the budget focus on facilitating the transition to a more sustainable energy mix.
This could be through subsidies, incentives, schemes, GST, waiver funding to related sectors, and also transition financing which is becoming extremely critical for the renewable energy solution providers and the subsequent consumer adoption.
Working with the startup ecosystem, I see a massive value add for companies in the clean tech sector. Companies such as Solar Square could get some benefit out of the budget, hopefully. So really looking forward to the Budget 2024 and a brighter future.