Published on February 1, 2022
The Budget provided a boost for various sectors, specifically Infra, Agri, welfare, energy etc. There was a clear focus by the Government on driving digital economy growth with fintech, tech-enabled development, energy transition and climate action plan. It was good to see that the Government is serious about launching digital currency, usage of blockchain tech, bringing 1.5 lakh post offices into the core banking system to enable financial inclusion, Battery swapping policy to allow EV charging stations for automobiles and 5G/Telecom focus among others.
We hope the MF Industry latches on to the post office network as it can potentially help in MF Distribution given the network, presence, and customer base of the Postal department. It is still very early to say but I believe this might help the MF industry specifically in B30 locations. Some of the few big surprises were (1) decision to tax receivers of digital asset transfers at a high of 30% (2) 1 percent TDS on transfer of virtual assets above a threshold and gifts to be taxed (3) Gift of cryptocurrencies to be taxed at receiver’s end and middle class taxpayers left in lurch again and (4) A direct benefit to boost the MF industry which was highly expected.Overall, it was a futuristic budget bringing cheer to various sectors but perception of the common man perhaps will differ.