With the pandemic scare still looming around, healthcare expenditure needs to be a priority…it has to be atleast 3 percent of the GDP (presently it’s only 1.26 percent). Also, the National Health Protection Scheme should be extended to cover the migrant workers, in addition to the BPL populace.

The new tax regime did not have the expected impact and acceptance from tax payers. Hope to see the budget make the new tax regime more attractive with lower rates and incentivise tax payers to move out of the old regime. This will help phase out myriad exemptions and simplify the tax regime. It will also be a win-win situation for taxpayers on account of lower tax rates and lesser ambiguity.

Am happy to note that this year too the Union Budget is going to be presented in a paperless format, as started last year. Physical to digital is indeed quite the way to go in these ‘new normal’ times.

The Union Budget should create a roadmap for economic revival amidst the slowdown and the adverse impact of COVID-19 related disruptions. The budget needs to address economic growth and focus on job creation by driving consumption led growth, demand creation and investment growth. Emphasis on growth in production capabilities with a thrust on Atmanirbharta needs to continue.

Today the biggest challenge Corporates face is the increasing amount of legal and compliance requirements they must meet across different segments, geographies and jurisdictions. Having said that, companies can actually mitigate regulatory and compliance risks through automation. Compliance automation, or automated compliance can use AI (artificial intelligence) features and technology to simplify compliance procedures. In this regard, the Government should implement effective policies to create a robust technology infrastructure and environment that supports innovation. Data centres and cloud services are today undoubtedly the backbone of Digital India…hence it becomes imperative to speed up investment in these sectors, and also go the extra mile by providing infrastructure status to data centers.