#BLBudget. Focus on upskilling and bringing down cost of operations: Vivek Bhatia of thyssenkrupp Industries India

India Inc wants the forthcoming Budget to focus on bringing down the cost of operations and improving efficiencies to boost the country’s competitiveness in the global market even as the production-linked incentive is seen as attracting fresh investments. 

Dwelling on his expectations at the businessline Countdown to Budget 2023, Vivek Bhatia, Managing Director and CEO, thyssenkrupp Industries India, said fresh investments in core sectors such as cement, steel and power are on in full swing with more de-leveraged corporate balance sheets and an uptick in demand across sectors. 

The Budget should focus on ease of setting up manufacturing plants, bringing down the cost of operations while focusing on upskilling, he said. Cost competitiveness will help the country emerge as a global manufacturing hub. 

Spend on rural infrastructure

Aashish Kasad, Tax Partner, EY India, said the government should spend more on upgrading rural infrastructure, even though there are green shoots visible, to get all the engines of the economy firing. 

Special incentives should be provided to encourage research and development which can yield new intellectual property across sectors, she said. 

“Private sector should be incentivised to boost research as the country is not short of scientists. Spending through Corporate Social Responsibility should include skilling and it needs a lever in terms of tax deduction,” she said. 

Raj Balakrishnan, Managing Director and Co-Head Investment Banking,  BofA, said most of the bank’s clients are not seeing any slowdown whatsoever and thanks  to geopolitical turbulence, India has the opportunity to break the 6-7 per cent growth levels. 

Instead of complex tax rate structure currently prevalent, he advocated a uniform tax rate of 18 per cent across the board. 

While GST collection has been robust, there is a scope for reducing the rates. The government should break the perception that India is a complex country to do business, he said. 

Hetal Gandhi, Director Research, Crisil Market Intelligence and Analytics, said despite PLI to boost investment in green energy space, India’s competitiveness in the global market was lower than that of China where power tariffs are half of India’s ₹9-11 a unit. 

Indian solar module manufacturers having integrated operations are 20 per cent costlier than China and create a level playing in this will be a challenge for government, she said. 

Apart from cost competitiveness, reducing entry costs, more transparency while facilitating investments and inclusive growth through banking channels need to be addressed. 

Skilling should merge the efforts of the industry and academia. This is happening at higher levels such as hydrogen and battery storage. 

Capital investment should also focus on achieving scale and maybe it needs a series of PLI schemes, she said. 

The panel was moderated by Janaki Krishnan, Senior Deputy Editor, businessline. 

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