AmCham had an interactive budget session in partnership with Ernst & Young in Hyderabad.

The session concentrated on:

Budget backdrop
Key policy initiatives
Direct tax proposals
Indirect tax proposals
Lower corporate tax burden, simplification of law, brining clarity in law and ensuring non adversarial regime were also discussed, as well as, an increase in plan expenditure over non plan expenditure.

Some of the highlights of the budget include a dedicated long term irrigation fund to be created in NABARD with an initial corpus. Also in the agriculture and rural sector, a 100% village electrification by March 1, 2018 was announced.

In the social sector about 200 billion was earmarked for undertaking a massive mission to provide LPG connection in the name of women members of poor households.

There was also an announcement of a health insurance scheme which protects one third of India’s population against hospitalisation expenditures. There were quite a few reforms in the financial sector and initiatives to promote `Make in India.’

The session was attend by AmCham members in Hyderabad.