And for a Friday ……. The Union Budget & the BIG announcement of US-India trade deal…… some thoughts …. some musings….
For the common Man in India the Union Budget presented on 1st Feb was a NON – EVENT …… and that’s the way it should be for a maturing large $ 4Trn Economy …… unlike the last decades ….. indirect taxes has now gone out of purview …..GST has been rationalised & the scope has moved to the GST Council …….Direct taxes particularly Income Tax affecting individuals & Corporates …..must remain stable & not get tinkered year after year …… stability & predictability is a must for tax planning & growth ….. so the Budget then becomes just a Balance Sheet & Income-Expenditure statement of the GOI ….. so be it …. at best one can check if policies of the Central Govt are in line with the long term Goals as set in Viksit Bharat 2047 ….
The announcement by US President & Indian PM on the US-India Trade deal is a massive Game-Changer ….. if the EU- FTA was called “ Mother of all FTAs” then the US-India deal will undoubtedly be the “ Father of all Deals ” ……..whilst EU agreements will take some time to convert into business the US reduction of Tariff to 18% from current 50 % is just an executive order away …….. the immediate impact is on the hugely Labour intensive industrial hubs ……Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu for Hosiery & Knitwear …. Bhimavaram in AP for Shrimp aquaculture …. Surat in Gujarat for small Diamond polishing …. Carpet weavers across Kashmir …etcetc …..at the other end of the spectrum the EU FTA & US deal together sets a massive platform of Growth & opportunities for India to fast forward its Economic growth …….in the Global arena in areas of Semi-Conductors, Cloud services , Cybersecurity, AI software services . Robotics as also creates massive Job opportunities in Urban Construction , Agriculture & food processing , Travel & Tourism , Aerospace , Defence, Medical Equipment, Bio Pharma , Medical Tourism , Ayurveda & Geriatric Care & physiotherapy …etc etc …. …
India is now truly in a sweet spot ….. huge opportunities are opening up … let us all participate …..the equitable way ….. all inclusive way …. the SEEGOS way.