The Oscars were all that youngsters across the country could talk about yesterday — but today, the impact of the budget is slowly making waves among Gen Y. Though the no-nonsense resolution lacked favour by leaving the middle class and salaried people high and dry, the budget seems to support the start-up community, and young entrepreneurs are cheering already.
Going by speculation, it looks like everything from the consumption of tobacco products and movie-watching to eating out and automobile indulgences could be drastically affected — all activities the youth of Chennai thrive on. Angsty debates and threads on the topic on social media have already replaced the ‘Hail Leo!’ posts. We find how are our netizens in the city reacting!
Bye boss, be a boss!
Start-ups needed some sort of support and I am glad that this year’s budget has laid out measures to boost the mushrooming start-up system. The Union Budget 2016 remained faithful to the Startup India Action Plan announced by Narendra Modi last month. Income tax exemption for such organisations for the first three years of their operations, will help more people to launch their own business.
— Dr A. Balachandran, GM of Technology Business Incubator, VIT
Flying high, literally!
Air travel will become expensive due to increase in excise duty on aviation turbine fuel. And it is definitely a sad thing. Being an airhostess, I feel that air travel should be open to everyone.
Snort not, sweet child… it is a really good that they’ve increased the price of soft drinks. If it is not affordable, you can buy fresh juices, which are cheaper and healthier! Though it has come down heavily on smokers and tobacco consumers, it is happy news for non-smokers. It is the need of the hour.
— Sooshie, Model/airhostess
Fine dine... a dream
Eating out, buying branded products, taking flights... all these are going to become a distant dream now. I used to eat out when I travelled, but it’s going to be tough now. Rather than going for a proper dining experience, I might depend on roadside eateries. It is not a middle-class-friendly budget at all. There is a tremendous increase in price for all. I was planning to buy a car. But, now I am putting the plan on hold. The government should give some respite and relief to consumers as well.
— Meghant Parmar, consultant
Mercedes... audi... Sigh!
By introducing an infrastructure cess, we will see a spike in car prices. And first-time car buyers who plan to buy a low-end car will definitely think twice before shelling out the money. If a person’s budget is Rs 5 lakh, even an extra Rs 25,000 might affect them.
But it won’t affect a person who can purchase a high-end car. If he can afford a car worth Rs 1 crore, then adding Rs 5 lakhs more is not a big deal.
— R. suresh, entrepreneur
Educate the commoners!
There is always going to be demand for things whose prices have increased. Rather than just increasing or decreasing the price of products, the government should inform people why they are doing it.
Awareness should start from school itself. Whenever they increase the price of some products, there will be cheaper variants available, be it aerated drinks or tobacco products. And no one is honest about the ingredients. Until you educate people, there is no point in increasing or decreasing the price. They will just sit and crib about the price hike.
—Ananya Atish , PR consultant
