Mr. Sanjay Palve, Senior Managing Director, Essar Capital Ltd

“As our Honourable FM Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman gets set to present the Union Budget 2022, we expect the likely focus of the budget this year to be on initiatives which will boost economic growth and aid infrastructure development. Infrastructure is the backbone of every economy and the Government should improve availability of long-term funds to the infrastructure sector and capital allocation towards the newly set-up DFI – National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID). Instead of direct lending, the government should look at taking the route of providing guarantees to financial institutions for private sector lending in an attempt to boost the sector.

Steps to attract private sector investments including speedier resolution of claims/disputes should be a focus and needs to be considered to improve private sector sentiments. This in turn is expected to play a crucial role in the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP).

Sustainability and a boost to the Green and Renewable energy sector should also be a prime focus for this years. The Union Budget should place an emphasis on long-term policy stability to encourage investment in the renewable energy sector. The government should reduce customs duties on renewable energy equipment and increase fund allocation under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) to increase domestic manufacturing capabilities. This will boost manufacturing of clean energy equipment such as solar panels, electrolyzers, batteries, and wind turbines, which will boost the green hydrogen space.”