INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Sunil Kant Munjal said reduced GST rates in the auto sector would definitely spur consumer demand."It is time to go with big and bold
Raising taxes and plugging tax loopholes are, and will remain, a critical budgetary tool; however, I hope the Budget finds creative ways to
deploy government assets and to raise revenues," Sunil Kant Munjal, chairman of Hero Enterprise, told TheIndianSubcontinent in an interview
Policies and steps should be taken to support the private sector so that it can play a bigger role in capital formation and job creation, Mr
Munjal added.Here are the edited excerpts from Sunil Kant Munjal's interview to TheIndianSubcontinent:What are your expectations from
Budget 2019?This budget will also be an intent statement of the government in establishing the priorities over the next five years and
It is time to go with big and bold reforms
Raising taxes, and plugging tax loopholes are, and will remain, a critical budgetary tool
However, I hope the Budget finds creative ways to deploy government assets and to raise revenues.Countries around the world are lowering
taxes to spur investments and to trigger growth
I hope the budget begins a definitive and epochal journey to make India quickly tax competitive in line with peers around the world.We have
also seen in the past years that the government's ability to drive investments is somewhat limited
So, the private sector must be supported so it can play a bigger role in capital formation and job creation
This can happen through lower taxes, easily available land at competitive prices and a flexible environment for hiring and a streamlined
system of permissions.I also hope a mindset change is triggered in the government whereby the agriculture sector is viewed as an engine of
growth (given freedom to operate with appropriate infrastructure, access to funds, technology, systems and a safety net provided for
failures) and not treated as a perennial patient in need of resuscitation.What will be your message to the new Finance Minister?Use this
Make growth India's biggest priority over the next five years; if there are global uncertainties, find newer and more robust sources of
growth internally.In a country like India with its diversity, disparity, geographical spread and extremes of economic development, growing
faster is the only tried and time tested way of pulling the poor out of poverty and helping them join the mainstream.What is our view on the
weak growth in the auto sector and how can the finance minister offer a practical solution to the sector?In the short term, reduced GST
rates in the auto sector would definitely spur consumer demand
For the middle to long term, the government needs to align its electric mobility vision with the short to medium term challenges that
automakers face in terms of technology and scalability.It's very important for both the government and the industry to be on the same
page; in a fossil fuel-starved nation, electric is doubtless the only viable way to go; yet the multi-decade legacy of the internal
combustion engine cannot be wished away overnight or in a short span; there are too many stakeholders involved
The infrastructure challenge-in terms of setting up a charging network nationwide is quite formidable, as is the issue of used battery
disposal as the China's experience has shown
Therefore, it is only sensible to have a calibrated and collaborative approach, and both the government and industry must have an open
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