The Union Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday evoked mixed reactions among various stakeholders from this part of the region. People involved in travel and tourism industries welcomed the annual exercise, while small and medium-scale traders felt it ignored the sector.
Mahender Singh, who is pursuing Post Graduation Diploma (Travel and Tourism Management) in a Panchkula-based college, said: “Overall, the budget is very good, and on behalf of the tourism industry, I'd like to welcome this budget.” Referring to the mentioning of the tourism sector in the beginning of the budget speech, he said it was for the first time that the sector has been given such importance.
Terming the proposals of the budget, presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam for 2023-24 as excellent, Aman Verma, a student of Panjab University (Economic) Chandigarh, said that the budget would do a lot of positive things in the coming years. A huge 33 percent increase in Capital Investment has been made to Rs 10 lakh crores, which will have a cascading beneficial impact on all the segments of the economy.
With regards to personal taxation, the Finance Minister proposed the New Tax Regime as the default system, with no tax applicable for income up to Rs seven lakhs. The basic tax slabs have also been revised, providing relief to taxpayers. For non-government salaried employees, the exemption limit on leave encashment has been increased to Rs 25 lakhs from Rs three lakhs. This huge jump will benefit a very large number of retiring employees.
Anuradha Singh, another student (Commerce) from PU, said: “Exemption limit in income tax has been increased from Rs five lakh to Rs seven lakh which will lead to a rise in money flow in the market.”
Another student Sumeet criticized the budget by saying that it has ignored the small and medium-scale traders who are the foundation of the economy. Apart from other benefits to the middle class, there is no indication for the generation of employment, which is a burning issue, he said.
Hailing the Union Budget-2023 as futuristic and growth-oriented, founder of renowned startup Pumpkart KS Bhatia said that the Finance Minister has opened up a plethora of opportunities for the agri start-ups.
The president of Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee HS Lucky has termed the Union Budget as an eyewash and with no futuristic approach. “Today, taxes are being levied on every item in the form of GST and every citizen has to bear the brunt of taxes directly or indirectly. The basic problem of price rise and unemployment has not been addressed in this budget,” he added.
Prateek Mittal, Executive Director of Sushma Group — a real estate firm, said that this budget will boost realty prospects in tier II cities as it allocates Rs 10 lakh crore in capital investment outlay and intends to set up an urban infra development fund with an annual allocation of Rs 10,000 crore.
LC Mittal, director of Motia Group, said that the demand for real estate will rise as the government announced a new tax regime and tax rebate.