INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Budget 2021: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget on February 1, 2021Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected
Corporates and industry lobby groups expect the government to announce greater spending on healthcare and infrastructure, as well as tax
breaks for the automotive, manufacturing and tourism industries, reeling from the coronavirus crisis.Here is a wishlist from industry
(R-D), via bigger tax deductions on R-D spending, said Sudarshan Jain, secretary general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance.Kiran
Mazumdar Shaw, chief of Biocon Ltd, hopes the government will raise healthcare spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by fiscal 2025
from about 1% now.Real estate and InfrastrastureThe real estate and construction sector, a bellwether for the Indian economy, is hoping for
tax reliefs for home buyers and regulations curbing a rise in construction costs.Automobile IndustryThe automobile industry hopes for a
roadmap for a recently announced production-linked incentive scheme and policy on scrapping of commercial vehicles.Toyota Kirloskar, the
Indian unit of Toyota Motor Corp, said it was looking forward to support measures for the manufacture of hybrid electric vehicles and
parts.AviationThe aviation industry is looking for lower taxes on aviation turbine fuel and levies such as airport charges, parking and
landing and navigation charges, said Moody's India unit, ICRA.Tourism and HospitalityThe National Restaurant Association of India is hoping
for more liquidity support, with low collateral, and a minimum moratorium of six months.Personal tax breaks for domestic travel would also
national retail policy, to help combat the growing popularity of online sellers."Formulation of national retail policy, removing the
distinction between e-commerce and physical retail under one policy has been spoken about and we hope that this happens in FY 21," said
Preet Dhupar, chief financial officer of Ikea India
the industry could see bad loans nearly double.Some analysts expect the setting up of a so-called "bad bank", which the government will use
to buy bad assets from state-owned banks
There are also expectations for moves to recapitalise state-owned banks.Public sector banks may need a further 430 billion rupees ($5.9
Chandini Monnappa, Chris Thomas, Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Anuron Kumar Mitra in Bengaluru; Aditi Shah and Manoj Kumar in New Delhi, Nupur
Anand in Mumbai; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
