The Indian Budget 2015-16 was one of the most anticipated economic statements to come out of India ever since the Narendra Modi led government came to power in 2014. After a lost decade where the Indian economy constantly fell short of expectations, all eyes were on finance minister Arun Jaitley’s plan of action. And, he certainly did not disappoint.
This year’s Budget has been widely welcomed as pro-reform and pro-growth. The most important aspect, however, is the determination it reflects towards achieving sustainable growth. The emphasis is divided evenly across stability, consistency and transparency, striking the appropriate tone for the world’s fastest growing economy.
From the perspective of the international investor community, keenly waiting on the sidelines for years for clarity on a range of issues like retrospective taxation and what has sometimes come to be described as tax terrorism, the Jaitley Budget presses all the right buttons.
In fact, one of the relatively under-played aspects of the Budget I would like to highlight are some very ambitious moves in the renewables sector. The revised target for renewable energy capacity is now 175 GW by 2022, and it includes 100,000 MW solar, 60,000 MW wind, 10,000 MW biomass, and 5,000 MW small hydropower. This marks a major turning point in the fortunes of a country working towards taking its rightful place on the global stage and with Piyush Goyal in charge, energy will certainly not be lacking in that ministry.
The crucial confidence building process was kicked off the moment the Modi government was elected on May 16th last year with a range of messages like Make In India and Digital India. The Budget marks a bolstering of that confidence building process with hard-nosed policy backing.
I would like to see more of Mr Jaitley, his minister of state Jayant Sinha, commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman and others going out to the international markets and talking about this Budget and the opportunities it provides foreign investors, repairing some of the damage caused in the past.
It is this very aim that runs through as the central theme of the March edition of ‘India Global Business’, besides our usual range of interviews, policy updates and deal tracking. The ‘Eye on Budget’ section goes beyond the basic facts and figures to present an erudite analysis of what some of the new announcements would mean in the long term.
We also have an in-depth interview with Nobel Peace Prize-winner Kailash Satyarthi (Page 24) where he speaks about the Global Indian dividend which can be cashed in for social causes. Among some of the ‘India Inc. Picks’, we look into the recent M&A deals (Page 11) that helped clock a record year for India in 2014 and a mega $1-billion boost for Prime Minister Modi’s Make In India drive (Page 40).
In this edition, we also have a special ‘China Focus’ section (Page 34-35) and a ‘Special Report’ on the Indian government’s crackdown on so-called “tax terrorism” (Page 10).
So let’s take stock of the big Budget month gone by and read on for a wide-angle view.
