By Vivek Gupta
After the tough global lessons learned in 2020, it’s reassuring to see India’s latest Union Budget highlight the importance of healthcare to build a healthy nation and boost the economy. The focus on the vaccine drive and investment of Rs 64,180 crore over the next six years to improve healthcare services, across primary, secondary and tertiary care facilities, is a welcome step. This will be crucial to strengthen the economy, re-build its broken parts & bring back the much-needed confidence.
Great to see the spirit of entrepreneurship receiving its due attention through incentives provided for One-Person Companies (OPCs). This will go a long way in fostering a culture of innovation. Start-ups, especially the ones who had to face the brunt of the pandemic can use the tax holiday & capital tax exemption provisions. However, this was one of those steps that was expected. The One Nation, One Ration Card is a great initiative. It will solve the migrant workers' crisis & greatly benefit industries, especially MSMEs, that are dependent on these workers for survival & growth.
Heartened to see development proposal for five major fishing hubs, including Chennai, Kochi and Paradip, as sustainable ecosystems for economic activity. Like I said in the past, the fisheries segment earns the country a huge amount of FOREX- a focus on this sector will bear good returns, especially for the fishermen & farmers who are hit badly by the pandemic.
(The author is Co-Founder, Licious)