People seek cut in petrol, diesel prices

Hyderabad: What do Hyderabadis expect from the upcoming Union Budget 2021-12 slated to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmal Sitharaman on February 1? Given the chaos that people went through in the past several months due to the once-in-a-century Covid-19 pandemic, people are expecting a lot from the forthcoming Budget. But cut in prices of petrol and diesel, tax sops to those investing in startups, crop loan waiver for farmers and enhanced allocation of funds for infrastructure, seem to top their Budge wish list.

"I have been part of a startup investment platform in the UK and had an opportunity to invest in early-stage companies. In the UK, local nationals can claim up to 50 per cent investments or £100,000 per tax year that is why it is hugely attractive among startup investors. What is the incentive for Indian HNIs to invest in early-stage startups and risk their hard-earned money? None,"pointed out Major Sunil Shetty, founder, My Startup TV.

The central government claimed that India is home to world's third largest, but it should provide more tax incentives to attract investors, he told Bizz Buzz. "The only way to attract investments into early-stage startups from high net-worth individuals (HNIs) is by giving them tax incentives, especially by offsetting their losses against their income from other sources.This will motivate HNIs to take risks and support early-stage entrepreneurs," he reasoned.

Ever-rising prices of petrol, diesel and LPG are also taking financial toll on people. Cut in these prices will obviously bring much-needed relief. "The whole nation is waiting for the Budget to see whether any reliefs will be provided in the Budget. Inflation is high, petrol, diesel and LPG rates are going up even though global crude oil prices have moderated long back. it's high time the Centre reduces prices of fossil fuels at the earliest possible," demanded Rana Ashish, a PhD student from Osmania University.

He also batted for more funds for education and healthcare besides more jobs for unemployed youth. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised 2 crore government jobs for the unemployed youth in 2014. But the promise did not translate into reality so far. Food delivery apps and e-commerce sites provided more employment opportunities than the Indian government," he said. There is also a growing demand for the waiver of crop loans to bail out the country's farming community from financial distress. "Farmers were hit hard by Covid-induced lockdown, so I expect the government to waive crop loans and issue new loans to them and also some other incentives to motivate the farmers. Everything possible should be done to stop farmer suicides," said Girish, private employee.

I further hope that the Centre will not impose any new cess or surcharge as the common man is already burdened with the skyrocketing fuel prices and any additional cess or surcharge will increase the burden, he said.