Universal basic income transfers for poor may be introduced: HDFC -Governance Now

Universal basic income transfers for poor may be introduced: HDFC

Service tax rates could be increased to bring them in line with GST rates and some tweaks in corporate and personal tax regimes are expected

GN Bureau | January 30, 2017

#money transfer #HDFC #UBI #universal basic income #poverty

Universal basic income transfers for the poor are likely to be introduced only on a pilot basis but low-cost housing could get a bigger boost, said HDFC bank in its budget expectations.

The budget will be presented on February 1.

Read: Mid-19th century poverty levels in UK, US resemble those in India today: Expert

The HDFC bank report said that the theme of black money crackdown' and “digitization” could be reinforced. Service tax rates could be increased to bring them in line with GST rates and some tweaks in corporate and personal tax regimes are expected.

Assuming that the government is likely to project the effect of demonetization to be transitory, growth and tax targets for FY18 could be aggressive. Overall, fiscal deficit could at best be at 3-3.3% for FY18 (in line with the FRBM committee recommendations), and not paused at 3.5% of GDP.

It said that the 2017 budget will be presented against the challenging backdrop of an uncertain global environment, domestic economy reeling under the impact of demonetization, subdued private capex cycle and many unknowns confronting the government (such as roll out of GST). Given the context, therefore, we expect the government to provide some support to the economy however the optics of the budget are unlikely to dazzle.

The bank said it expects the budget to focus more on effective implementation and increased allocation to existing projects rather than announcing new schemes/projects. Some popular announcements mainly to help the sectors that have suffered in the demonetization process like MSMEs and rural economy are however likely.

HDFC report on budget expectations 2017

Comments

Other News

Global South: Health cooperation needs institutions to make solutions scalable

September 12 marks the International Day for South-South Cooperation, commemorating the 1978 Buenos Aires Plan of Action (BAPA). Forty-eight years later, its central proposition remains relevant: countries of the Global South can draw on their own knowledge, experience and innovations to address shared d

Reading the mind of Xi Jinping

As India prepares to host the 18th BRICS Summit this weekend, and as prime minister Narendra Modi is set to hold a bilateral meet with president Xi Jinping, China’s growing global influence and the changing dynamics of India-China relations will be under focus. But to understand where China is head

BRICS at 20: From economic weight to global influence

This year marks 20 years of BRICS, with India set to host the grouping’s leaders’ summit this weekend. The anniversary offers an opportune moment to assess BRICS’ growing importance at a time when the effectiveness of global governance and the credibility of multilateralism are under in

Former president Ram Nath Kovind on some of his unforgettable journeys

Triumph of the Indian Republic: My Life, My Struggles By Ram Nath Kovind Rupa Publications, 400 pages, Rs 795 All our presidents so far stand out, each for a different reason. Ram Nath Kovind, the 14th president of India, from 2017 t

Uday Kotak on history, Indian economy, growth and more

Pathbreakers: How 10 Visionary Leaders Transformed India by award-winning journalists By Sucheta Dalal and Debashis Basu Rupa Publications, 304 pages, Rs 695

₹5,000 crore saved from suspected financial fraud

In a significant gain for citizen protection in the digital economy, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has helped prevent suspected cyber fraud losses of more than ₹5,000 crore through its Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) within fifteen months of its launch on May 22, 2025. This money did