UK industry ‘bullish’ about progressive Budget that sustains reform momentum

If you compound this also with the UK-India FTA signed last year, it creates a great environment for UK investors to participate in the growth of the Indian economy, which is still very much a domestic consumption story, said Chande.

UK-focussed businesses and global investment experts expressed great optimism around the Union Budget tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha on Sunday, describing it as ''confidence boosting'' and ''progressive'' in its aims to meet the government's goals set for Viksit Bharat by 2047. The 11.4 per cent hike in infrastructure spending and easing of investment limits were seen as particularly attractive for foreign investors to be able to invest in Indian public equities. Financial services sector incentives such as a 20-year tax holiday were also overwhelmingly welcomed as a sign of a maturing economy projecting its attractiveness over other emerging markets. ''The long-term tax holiday till 2047 for foreign companies providing cloud services, I think is a fantastic initiative to show the commitment that India has towards digital infrastructure and cloud services,'' said Dr Kishore Jayaraman, Group CEO of UK India Business Council (UKIBC). ''Also, the capital expenditure growth from Rs 11.2 lakh crores in the previous Budget to Rs 12.2 lakh crores is again an aggressive move that shows how interested India is in sustaining the momentum in its reforms, in the infrastructure development for roads, railways and urban (areas),'' he said. Jayaraman welcomed the Budget's focus on ''inclusive growth'' with a vision to sustain the momentum of the structural reforms in the country, backed by a robust and resilient financial sector and cutting-edge technologies. ''Overall, UKIBC is very bullish about this Budget, and we do believe it sets India on the right path to achieve the goals set for 2047,'' he said. On the proposed six-month foreign asset disclosure scheme, the industry expert felt the initiative was a progressive move that would enhance the ease of doing business by allowing NRIs, students and tech professionals clarity about their tax affairs. Focussing the India-UK corridor against the backdrop of the free trade agreement (FTA), he added: ''The partnership with the FTA in play between the UK and India can only be enhanced, and the support given by the Finance Ministry with this current Budget should only help accelerate and catalyse the FTA, taking it into actionable items and outcomes that matter.'' Anuj Chande, Partner at Grant Thornton UK and Head of its South Asia Business Group, declared it a ''confidence compounding and pro-investor Budget'', as he also highlighted the many wins for the India-UK partnership. ''If you compound this also with the UK-India FTA signed last year, it creates a great environment for UK investors to participate in the growth of the Indian economy, which is still very much a domestic consumption story,'' said Chande. ''The 11.4 per cent increase in infrastructure spending, which allows particularly investors from abroad... and corporates in that whole supply chain to participate as well. ''Secondly, in aggregate, individual foreign investors could hold up to 24 per cent in Indian public companies. That will be beneficial, particularly to NRIs that are resident in the UK and are keen to invest in India. It's now much easier to invest also through the RBI route,'' he shared. With specific reference to the foreign asset disclosure window for Indians on short-term travels abroad, Chande welcomed it as an ''interesting incentive'' that will benefit students and tech professionals in the longer term. ''The emphasis on immunity from prosecution is a big, big giveaway by the finance minister, under Category B, where you have declared the asset, but not necessarily reported,'' he noted. In the field of energy, continued duty exemptions were welcomed even as a lack of greater production linked incentive (PLI) manufacturing push was flagged by analysts. ''While the Budget delivered no big-ticket announcements for renewables, continued duty exemptions, support for critical minerals, and manufacturing reforms are expected to quietly strengthen clean energy supply chains,'' said Duttatreya Das, Energy Analyst for Asia at Ember – a UK-based not-for-profit energy think tank. ''Additional capital subsidies could have further unlocked the potential of PLI-led manufacturing, particularly in upstream solar and energy storage,'' he said.

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