New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday stated that the upcoming Budget for 2023-24 will follow the spirits of the earlier budgets.”We are not only going to set the template which was set earlier but follow it and take it further for India`s next 25 years. In 2047, we look forward to our children living in India which will be far more developed,” Sitharaman said. Sitharaman was speaking at the 95th annual general meeting of the industry body FICCI here in the national capital.
Meanwhile, the formal exercise to prepare the annual Budget for the next financial year — 2023-24 — commenced on October 10. The Budget for 2023-24 is likely to be tabled on February 1. Notably, it will be the last full Budget for Modi 2.0 government before the Lok Sabha elections to be held in April-May of 2024. Sitharaman, at the FICCI meeting, said that there is a need to further strengthen the Indian manufacturing sector along with exploring newer areas of the service sector.”It is necessary to strengthen our manufacturing sector and in that Indian start-ups have shown us the way by bringing more innovation.
I would urge the industry to keep close watch on the innovations coming from the start-ups. The manufacturing sector can benefit from the new energy of the start-ups for all sectors including the sunrise sector,” Sitharaman was quoted as saying by FICCI in a statement.
In her address, speaking on the global uncertainties, the finance minister urged the Indian industry to focus on the opportunities arising from them.”The suspected long-drawn recession which is likely to affect in West will not just impact your (industry) exports but it gives us an opportunity for many of the investments which are now looking for a different place from where the activities can continue to happen. It is the best time for the Indian industry to work on strategies for drawing those manufacturers to India,” she added at the AGM.
Further, the minister advised the Indian industry that as the world transitions into clean energy, the domestic industry could face higher tariffs by the developed countries, besides urging the industry to tell the government on how climate change is affecting them and suggest ways to reduce the burden of cost falling on them.”The industry should prepare itself for tariff walls by some countries in the name of climate change,” she highlighted.Speaking about the G20, Sitharaman said that India`s achievements in terms of the digital capabilities that the country has including financial area, payments area, banking, health or education, the achievements are stunning.”The government is using every opportunity during the G20 to showcase it so that countries which are interested in any of the digital achievements of India can benefit from it,” she added.
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`FICCI-McKinsey & Company report titled `India`s Century- Achieving Sustainable, Inclusive Growth: A Roadmap for India Inc`, was released during the session today. During the meet, Sanjiv Mehta, President, FICCI said that India is on the cusp of becoming the third largest economy and the transformational policies along with reform measures taken by the government have helped strengthen the foundation for it.”I firmly believe that the industry`s own growth and profits are intertwined with the people and planet approach,” Mehta added, according to the industry body`s statement.
