KIIT School of Management (KSOM) organized a virtual panel discussion on post budget analysis of the Union Budget 2022 on 2nd February 2022. Mr. A. K. Sabat, Chartered Accountant; Dr. Ranjit Kumar Pattnaik, Ex-CGM & Advisor, RBI; and Ms. Kanika Pasricha, Economist, Standard Chartered Bank were the external experts in the panel discussion.
Welcoming the experts and participants, Dr. Saroj Kumar Mahapatra, Professor & Director, KSOM introduced different activities conducted in the School in pursuit of academic excellence. He described that though the budget seemed humble per se, it was a vision statement for the future. Prof. Mahapatra laid emphasis on capital outlay made for infrastructure projects, Gati Shakti, which would boost the economy on the whole. He also stressed the agricultural boost that may be achieved by means of drones and technology.
Prof. Praveen Mohanty, Professor of Finance, KSOM set the context of the discussion by highlighting the importance of resource allocation in the budget while lauding the increase in the tax collection. He appreciated the initiatives of the government to focus on the growth by increasing the public spending on infrastructure development.
Dr. Ranjit Kumar Pattnaik walked the participants through the nitty-gritty of the budget. He stressed on the borrowings made by the central and state governments in the context of the GDP of the country. He opined that the high debt levels would discourage investments in the private sector as issuing bonds to fund capex or borrowings will become expensive. He mentioned that inflation and price stability is still a concern and also opined that all capital investments may not result in growth since the return on capital should exceed the hurdle rate, aka the borrowing cost, to propel the economic growth.
Participating in the discussion, Mr. A. K. Sabat described the budget as disheartening for the middle-class people of India along with the MSME sector. He believed that corporate and manufacturing companies have very competitive tax rates, and this should help India bloom into an export hub. He emphasized on the inflation index, which has gone up significantly since 2014 and has affected every citizen. He also mentioned that implementation of all capital expenditures proposed in the budget statement is vital which will improve direct and indirect job creation. He welcomed the tax levied on profits earned on crypto currencies and gifting of digital currencies.
Ms. Kanika Pasricha highlighted that the budget is growth oriented and the right frame for the future economic growth. She mentioned that the challenges remain with the policy implementation. She emphasized that the increase in government borrowing is a clear sign that the government is not fearful of rating agencies but instead focusing on the capital expenditure to accelerate economic growth. She opined that the capex will be helpful in rebounding the economic growth, at the time when private investment is struggling.
Dr. S. N. Misra, Dean, KSOM explained that the capex will provide better employability with a multiplier effect. Allocation on public health and ‘Tap to every house’ is a welcome move. He also highlighted the government’s focus on early childhood education through anganwadi. He mentioned that the allocation of funds for early childhood education does not align with the expectation of the scheme.
Dr. K. K. Ray, Professor, KSOM moderated the session. A question-answer session followed the panel discussion. Dr. Praveen Mohanty, Professor, KSOM proposed the vote of thanks. KIIT School of Management has a regular practice of conducting such discussions to keep its students abreast of the matter of national interest and fulfil its responsibility as an institutional citizen of the country.