The Budget wishlist

With the nation’s expectations from the Narendra Modi government running high ahead of the Union Budget 2015, youngsters too have their own wishlist. Be it taxes on luxury goods that youngsters always have an eye on or the larger picture keeping the Make in India campaign in mind, students tell us what they wish from the Union Budget.

Focus on e-commerce
The e-commerce industry is a focus area for students who see themselves being a part of the sector. “A lot of e-commerce companies face hurdles when they begin operations.

The industry is growing at a fast pace. What I would like is more regulatory laws to support the growth. I feel the government is already moving in the right direction,” says Akshay Chaturvedi, a student at ISB.

Foreign investments
Akshay also believes that it’s foreign investment that will help the Make in India campaign. “We need to cut down on transfer pricing and encourage foreign investors to be a part of our economy. The aim should be to create more jobs, make Make in India campaign successful by supporting manufacturing within India, which will make way for employment.”

Digitalisation
“For the concept of Smart Cities too, there needs to be more support from the government. Setting up virtual panchayats, making way for telemedicine and tele-education will help,” he says.

Tax restructure
From the larger picture of growth, when it comes to individual demands that youngsters have — be it an imported bike or car, luxury brands or gamers who are craving the latest PlayStation or Xbox — the taxes they believe are only justified. Pranav Thakur, a student at ISB says, “Instead of three-four different kinds of taxes, a mechanism needs to be brought in where people pay one tax. Talking about these luxury goods, the prices also vary from where you buy the products. Different states have different prices. So instead of that, we should have a pan India pricing that is inclusive of tax. They should also increase exemption levels to give more spending power to people, which will result in more currency in circulation.”

Exemptions for students
Fourth-year student Vinay Kumar Goud from CBIT feels that when it comes to students, there should be some means of tax exemptions. Vinay, who owns a start-up in digital marketing and paid over Rs 1.5 lakh last year in income tax, says, “It’s only fair for me to pay the taxes, but I should also get something in return.”

More power to start-ups
India has more than 50 per cent of it’s population below the age group of 25, and that’s the age group that’s bustling with ideas for start-ups, Vinay talks about what the start-up sector expects from the Budget. “More power needs to be given to start-ups. Entrepreneurship needs to be encouraged by providing for more funds that boost the morale, especially of students to come up with more ideas. Allocation of larger portion to start-ups is what would help in the growth. As a part of the start-up community, I have big ideas but they can be implemented if I have the right amount of funds and that’s what I expect from the Budget.”