ICAI Dubai hails India budget

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) Dubai chapter has hailed the Union budget for 2023-24 and termed it future oriented and supporting growth of the country.

In its opening remarks at the post-budget seminar, the institute’s representatives praised the budget for easing taxes on the middle class and taking steps to reduce unemployment, poverty and income disparity while keeping prices in check.

“India is on the total path of growth,” said Dinesh Kothari, vice-chairman and managing director of Delhi Private Schools group. “If you have not invested in Indian markets, now is the time to do so because the dream run is about to start,” he said.

India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget on Wednesday -- the last full-fledged finance document before the general elections next year. With major changes in tax slabs and tax regimes, it is expected to the be a budget that will positively impact the middle- and lower-income segments.

The ICAI Dubai chapter event discussed the budget and its salient features. The ICAI members went over the finer details of the budget and broke it down to explain how the changes would impact the various groups of Indians. It was termed as a budget that focused on three Cs -- Capex, consumption and capital. Capex, an acronym of capital expenditure, is the money spent to buy, maintain, or improve fixed assets.

Key takeaways

“This budget has been wonderful,” said Paras Shahdadpuri, chairman of Nikai Group.

“It is a bottom-up approach, which means they have taken care of the weaker section of our country. They have also taken care of the schedule cast, schedule tribes and tribal areas of North and Northeast India. I would say it has been a very encouraging budget especially considering how much they have spent on Capex, which is going to generate a lot of employment, manufacturing activities, roads and ports.”

The 2023-24 budget is expected to drive the $3.4 trillion economy to its medium-term goal of hitting $5 trillion by 2025-26.

For Anurag Chaturvedi, chairman of ICAI Dubai, the key takeaway has been the focus on senior citizens. “The kind of incentives that senior citizens are getting is extremely critical,” he said. “They will be getting their leave encashment which is a big relief after the Covid pandemic. People have been working from home and not taking their days off. When this is converted into leave encashment and added to their retirement fund, it is a huge saving for them.”