Union Budget’21 – Panel Discussion

“Budgeting is the first step towards financial freedom.”

The Union Budget 2021 displayed the colours of restraint, resilience and self-reliance. Some even termed it as a vaccine that India needs desperately. This year the Union Budget embodied the spirit of “less is more” in its attempt to surge the economy.

The finance department of SCMS NOIDA, on the 5th of February, conducted a  panel discussion that included CA. Neelesh Vithlani, Mr Srinivas Korlepara, and CA Abhishek Gupta as the guest speakers. Dr K.P. Venugopala Rao, Director of Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies, NOIDA presided over the event.

In a panel discussion, our guest speakers discussed various issues related to the Union budget. In the backdrop of the worst economic tragedy, the proposed Budget rested on the following six fundamentals as observed by the members of the panel discussion

  • Health and Well-Being: A record increase in spending via PM Atma Nirbhar Swasthya Bharat Yojana and a commitment to increase COVID-19 vaccine spend beyond INR 35,000 crores. Jal Jeevan Mission Urban aims to modernize the water supply nationwide which will incline towards strengthening Urban Swach Bharat Mission. The Budget also observed a reduction in GST on API from 18% to 12% to reverse the inverted duty structure seemed to a major miss.
  • Physical & Financial Capital, and Infrastructure: Vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and unfit vehicles which will be followed by 100% electrification of Railways to be completed by 2023. National Hydrogen Mission will be launched to generate hydrogen from green power sources for a sustainable future ahead. A new development finance institution, called the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development, will accelerate project financing that will act as a strong positive multiplier.
  • Inclusive Development for Aspirational India: Social security benefits will encircle the gig and platform workers and minimum wages shall be raised. Women workers will be allowed to work in the night shifts.
  • Reinvigorating Human Capital: India to export skilled professionals, benchmark skill qualifications, conduct assessment and certification, to more countries across the globe.
  • Innovation and R&D: 50,000 crores laid out for the National Research Foundation and 4,000 crores for deep ocean mission for survey exploration.
  • Minimum Government and Maximum Governance: Rationalization of the functioning of tribunals and a conciliation mechanism for quick resolution of contractual disputes with state-run firms.

The panel concluded with a unanimous agreement that the budget was a step toward a brighter future.  Capital expenditure which is being raised by 34.5 per cent to Rs 5.54 lakh is focused on boosting, encouraging India towards being Aatmanirbhar (Self-Reliant). The key segments around which the budget revolved were infrastructure and health.  The panel also observed that in order for India to bounce back and head towards the 5 trillion dollar economy, the manufacturing sector of India has to grow on a sustained basis in double-digits. The panel discussion concluded with a vote of thanks to the esteemed guests, for their valuable contribution to the benefit of BBA students.

15 comments

  1. Akshat Jain says:

    This was informative

  2. Aaysha Agrawal says:

    Very informative. The data used are very beneficial.

  3. Aarohi says:

    Very informative

  4. Siddhant Upadhyay says:

    💯

  5. Misha Mathur says:

    Informative and amazingly written!

  6. Abhilasha Tiwari says:

    This was a landmark budget! this article covered all the aspects perfectly.

  7. Ishika Tyagi says:

    Very informative 💯

  8. Nikunj Singla says:

    Wonderful! Very Informative

  9. Priya Sinha says:

    Quite absorbing!

  10. Vedika Poddar says:

    Very insightful, great article

  11. Soumya Deb Saha says:

    very informative information:)

  12. Nishanth Reddy says:

    got to know the main crux of this year’s budget

  13. Armaanjit says:

    Well done!!!

  14. Shruti Mishra says:

    It was quite informative!

  15. Samarth Bhatt says:

    Perfect summarization of the landmark budget

Leave a Reply to Misha Mathur Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *