Budget 2024: CII’s wishlist to boost India’s Economy; Focus on rationalising GST, Urban Jobs and Increasing Housing Demand

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has revealed their wishlist for the upcoming budget, highlighting initiatives that would help India’s economy.

One of the key elements driving India’s continued economic growth has been the government’s emphasis on increased expenditure on highways, airports, railway tracks, and bridges. The CII hopes that this focus does not shift. It advised a capex increase of at least 20% to Rs.12 lakh crore.

According to the CII wishlist, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman should focus on balancing financial reduction and economic growth, and the budget deficit target for the next financial year should be reduced to roughly 5.4% of GDP.

The CII proposed simplifying the GST structure by reducing it to a three-rate structure, with a standard rate for most items, a low rate for necessary commodities, and a high charge for luxury and demerit goods.

To increase employment in urban areas, the CII proposed launching a few experimental initiatives under an urban employment guarantee programme.

The CII proposed expanding the interest subsidy scheme for low-cost housing to cover total house expenditures up to Rs.35 lakh instead of Rs.25 lakh.

The CII emphasised the importance of timely execution of the National Logistics Policy, which aims to reduce logistics costs to those of industrialised countries.

CII proposed a process to assist get the asset sale programme back on track. The concept comprises prioritising public-sector firms with considerable investor interest. The industry organisation has requested a three-year timeline for disinvestment in state-owned firms.

CII suggested increasing the concessional rate of 15% tax for qualifying manufacturing units until March 31, 2025. The industry association also suggested expanding the PLI (production linked incentive) plan to labor-intensive industries including clothes, toys, and footwear in order to increase job creation.

The CII recommended lowering tax litigation by enhancing dispute resolution processes such as the Faceless Appeals, Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) mechanism, Board for Advance Ruling (BAR), and Dispute Resolution Scheme (DRS).

The CII proposed that all company regulatory approvals be processed through the National Single Window System (NSWS). It also anticipated continued development of the dispute settlement process.