CNBC-TV18’s ‘The Budget Verdict’ decodes the proposals and intent of Budget 2022

11th February 2022: The Union Budget 2022, presented in Lok Sabha by Nirmala Sitharaman on 1^st February, has been an awaited financial announcement, especially amid the rising concerns of COVID-19 pandemic plummeting the Indian economy. In the Budget 2022, the principal strategy makers and Union Finance Minister spared no effort to table an all-inclusive announcement.

Providing viewers with a thorough understanding of the Union budget and how it impacts their lives, CNBC-TV18 hosted the seventh edition of ‘Budget Verdict’ on its digital portals cnbctv18.com & Moneycontrol.com, along with a live telecast to viewers on CNBC-TV18, on 2nd February.

‘The Budget Verdict’ featured Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor at CNBC-TV18, in conversation with the Budget team from the North Block as well as key policy makers in a host of engaging sessions. The reputed panel featured prominent corporates, policy advisors, bureaucrats that included T.V. Somanathan, Finance Secretary of India; Tarun Bajaj, Revenue Secretary of India; Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM); Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog; Anurag Jain, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT); Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog; Vivek Johri, Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) and JB Mohapatra, Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

The show saw these leading architects of the budget explain and defend various issues ranging from the targets, status and future intent of strategic disinvestment, the risks on the government’s radar and rate rationalization in the GST regime, amongst others.

The opening session, witnessed Finance Secretary T. V. Somanathan justify the government's decision to spend liberally on capex rather than cash transfers and direct boosts to consumption. He asserted, “Increases in government expenditure do lead to increases in demand. In fact, most economists would suggest that a rupee of capital expenditure creates more demand ultimately than a rupee of revenue expenditure.”

While putting rest to all questions regarding the government's stand on crypto ban, Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj clarified that the government was taking feedback from various domestic and international sources on issues related to crypto-currencies and would incorporate insights and perspectives in its final submission. He added, “The department couldn't wait for the regulation to decide on taxing crypto activities, we will withdraw the 30% tax if the government decides to ban crypto products.”

Rajiv Kumar, VC, Niti Aayog, expressed optimism for the National Monetization Plan as he stated, “We are well on track with our asset monetization pipeline, and you can expect some announcements soon enough.” Adding to the positivity, Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog, weighed in favor of the announced budget with respect to divestment target. He commented, “We are quite confident that we will achieve our divestment target & mostly surpass it.”

The Secretary of DPIIT, Anurag Jain, explained how the GIS platform would prove helpful for the Gati Shakti scheme. He mentioned that this plans to be implemented through breakdown of inter-department silos, a host of options on offer and ease in coordination and planning of different industries.

Shedding light on privatization transactions and changing horizons of Shipping Corporation of India, Tuhin Kanta Pandey, DIPAM Secretary, said, “Inspection of the ships itself has been a challenge with the privatization of Shipping Corp. However, due diligence & demerger process is underway & we expect to conduct bidding soon.”

Addressing why the Union Budget 2022 does not have much to offer on the personal tax front, JB Mohapatra, Chairman, CBDT, assured, “'If we achieve our targets next year then we can see some relief on the personal tax front in the next budget.”

The session also saw the experts and policymakers receive due appreciation and praise, especially for the record GST collection in the month of January 2022. Expanding on the profits gained, Vivek Johri, Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) replied, “GST collections have increased & will be sustainable going forward. We can expect a revenue of 1.3-1.5 lakh crore rupees a month going ahead.”

In addition to sharing their insights on the impact of Budget, these industry stalwarts also engaged and interacted with the audience from India Inc. through a lively virtual Q&A exchange on topics that revolved around the status of crypto currencies and the implications of the budget proposal to tax these virtual assets.

Over the past six years, the show has brought together architects of the union budget and leaders of India Inc. Together, these stalwarts offer the most incisive and comprehensive budget impact assessment. Led by seasoned business journalists and research analysts, the channel looks forward to the show once again analyzing and decoding the Union Budget with precision.