Budget 2020: 'India can no longer ignore women's safety issue'

Mr. Vishal Saurav, Founder and CEO of Xboom Utilities Pvt. Ltd.:

"India is at such a crossroad now that it can no longer keep the issue of women’s safety untended. With the rising numbers of crime against women, addressing the issue of women’s safety and security and allocating a portion of the budget in this regard is what we and other e-commerce start-ups like us who are working in the safety and security sector are expecting. Lowering the GST rate on women safety products from 18% to 5% would be one way to go about it.

We also expect few women safety products also get exempted from the tax altogether as safety these days is not a luxury but a necessity. The import and export duty should get a revision so that trading in international markets gets a boost. The transportation charges in the railway should see a decline too as these will cut costs and make those safety products more affordable. To promote production in India, the women safety product manufacturers should be getting special benefits from the budget so that products become more affordable to the masses."