ITV

Tag: Budget 2014

  • Over Rs 1860 crore spent on 15 communication satellites in last 3 years

    Over Rs 1860 crore spent on 15 communication satellites in last 3 years

    NEW DELHI: After the announcement of Budget 2014 allocations, the space department has laid down the future programme for 2020.

     

    The plan envisages development of advanced launch vehicle systems, thematic earth observational satellites with improved resolution, high-power, high-throughput communication satellites, microwave multi-spectral remote sensing satellites, weather and climate studies, constellation of satellites for regional navigation, development of critical technologies for human spaceflight and satellites for space science and planetary exploration purposes.

     

    Fourteen of the 58 space missions slated in the 12th Five Year Plan, 2012-17 are linked to communication.  In addition, five launch vehicle missions will also be linked to these satellites.

     

    GSAT-10, GSAT-15, GSAT-16, GSAT-17 and GSAT-18 are specifically communication satellites to augment the INSAT system with C and Ku band transponders. GSAT-9 will be a communication satellite to augment the INSAT system with C band transponders. GSAT-14 and GSAT-11S will be experimental communication satellites, while GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A will be multi-media mobile communication satellites for strategic applications.

     

    GSAT-7 is a communication satellite for special users, and both GSAT-11 and GSAT-Ka are advanced Ka band satellite for VSAT communications.  GSAT-19E is a new generation experimental communication satellite.

     

    Close to Rs 1867 crore has been spent on the five satellites meant for communication launched in the last three years, out of the total Rs 1987 crore allocated for this purpose. It can be noted this amount was spent by 31 March this year.

     

    According to sources in the Department of Space, these satellites are GSAT-14 (launched on 5 January this year), GSAT-7 (launched on 30 August last year to reach a wide area over the oceans including the Indian mass), GSAT-10 (launched on 29 September 2012 for communication and navigation), GSAT-12 (launched on 15 July 2011) and GSAT-8 (launched on 21 May 2011 for communication and navigation).

  • E-commerce gives thumbs up to Budget 2014

    E-commerce gives thumbs up to Budget 2014

    MUMBAI: The e-commerce sector is a happy lot. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his maiden budget announced that manufacturing units will be allowed to sell their products through retail including e-commerce platforms without any additional approval.

     

    This paves path for the foreign direct investment (FDI) in the manufacturing sector.

     

    Foreign consumer brands with manufacturing units in the country have been piggybacking on the online retailers’ potential growth which is currently estimated to be at $3.2 billion.

     

    PwC India technology leader Sandeep Ladda says, “Liberalisation of FDI in e-commerce sector will provide much-needed certainty to foreign players and to a sector that has the promise to provide increased commerce and generate employment in the country. This will also provide boost to the sector and create healthy competition so as to benefit all the constituents in the ecosystem – consumers, government, e-commerce players, and retailers in general.”

     

    While the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) is keen on opening e-commerce to FDI, as was made abundantly clear in the meeting with industry stakeholders, they were also clear that they needed to understand how FDI would help boost manufacturing.

     

    American Swan CEO and director Anurag Rajpal says, “A more robust online retail sector will spur manufacturing and help an economic revival. India currently does not allow global online retailers from selling goods directly to customers but allows them to own 100 per cent of a marketplace business, where third-party suppliers can use their platform. Both Amazon and eBay use such a platform to operate in the country.”

     

    Amazon India, which recently launched its first TVC in the country during IPL 7 and promises delivery on the same day, feels that FM’s announcement is a positive statement of intent for the e-commerce industry. “It recognises the role of e-commerce companies in the growth of manufacturing sector. Following this statement, we are hopeful of a more positive and liberalised policy on e-commerce in the near future aimed to help grow the manufacturing industry,” says a spokesperson from the e-retailer.

     

    One of the biggest players of this space in the country, Flipkart co-founder and CEO Sachin Bansal thinks this is a forward looking budget and hopes to see results over time. “The focus on giving a fillip to infrastructure and skill development is very encouraging. The fact that we could see a GST roll out by the end of the year is very positive and will augur well for all sectors. The attention to facilitating entrepreneurship and the allocation towards the National Rural Internet and Technology Mission is an extremely positive move, as collectively they provide the opportunity for both individuals as well as businesses to go digital,” he opines.

     

    Brands feel that the move will give a push to the manufacturing sector, and will also encourage foreign companies to set up manufacturing facilities in India.

     

    Currently, India allows wholly-owned overseas subsidiaries in single-brand retailers that sell products under a single label through physical stores such as Zara, Panasonic or Marks & Spencer. However, the catch is that they have to get clearance from Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) and produce 30 per cent of their products within the country.

     

    Moreover, other announcements in the budget too signal a positive way for the online sector. More internet penetration and connection in the rural areas, increase in logistics because of increase in railway freight and decrease in excise duties on shoes, apparel etc bring in good news for the portals.

     

    Jabong’s co-founder & MD Praveen Sinha feels that though it is still unclear that how increase in service tax on online advertising will impact the sector, one will have to wait and watch how these announcements will be implemented. 

  • Shocked by the retrograde budget proposal, says Indian Beverage Association

    Shocked by the retrograde budget proposal, says Indian Beverage Association

    MUMBAI: Taking a cue from Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, who has been pushing for higher tax on tobacco products, the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley took a step further from not only increasing excise duty on tobacco, but targeted the aerated drinks as well.

     

    With an eye oncreating a healthier India, the FM has taxed aerated drinks containing sugar, while exempting fruit juices and other aerated drinks like soda.

     

    “I also propose to levy an additional excise duty at 5 per cent on aerated waters containing added sugar. These are healthy measures and I hope everyone would welcome them from the point of view of human and fiscal health,” Jaitley said in his speech.

     

    However, the move hasn’t gone down well with the industry.

     

    On the hike,  an Indian Beverage Association (IBA) spokesperson says, “We are extremely shocked by the retrograde budget proposal of a 5 per cent hike in excise duty on aerated drinks with added sugar.”

     

    The players point out that the soft drinks industry is already one of the highest taxed categories in the country. The combined impact of CENVAT and state VAT rates reaches 34 per cent in eight states in the country. “Coming on top of the current 12 per cent rate, the additional 5 per cent duty increase will be tantamount to a 40 per cent increase in the central excise duty which would hit the industry hard and cause a major slowdown at a time when demand growth for the industry has been sluggish,” elaborates the spokesperson.  

     

    The IBA rebuts the increase by saying that the carbonated soft drinks (CSD)  industry is a key segment of the food processing sector in India. It is a significant user of agri products and, with its high labour intensity, contributes significantly to agricultural growth and employment. With a ratio of direct to indirect employment of 1:4, similar to that of the software industry, the industry’s developmental impact is not adequately appreciated. Currently, it employs over 300,000 people, and if there is a conducive environment for growth the industry has the potential to grow at double digit rates and can contribute more than a million additional jobs over the next decade.  

     

    “It must also be understood that in a country where options of safe, convenient and hygienic beverages are rather limited, CSDs play a very important role in meeting the hydration needs of people. With this hike in excise duty, the industry will have no option but to increase the price of its products. An increase in price will also fuel the growth of beverage options from the spurious and unorganised sector which, on the one hand, pose significant risk to public health and on the other, will take away tax revenue from the government,” adds the spokesperson.

     

    Parle Agro CMO and JMD Nadia Chauhan says, “In the wake of current hike, we will be evaluating our cost efficiencies for Cafe Cuba, whilst closely observing the change in dynamics of the CSD market. Our immediate focus is to work out a strategic approach that works best in serving consumer interest as well as maintaining the organisation’s operational cost. Whether we will be adjusting our price points, reworking volumes or fine-tuning marketing expenses is a key decision that will be taken basis analysis of all the key factors that determine our pricing strategy.”

     

    As per a report by Euromonitor International, soft drinks off-trade value sales continued to record further growth in 2013 in India. The year also recorded many new launches in flavours across categories including juices, powder concentrates, and carbonates. Leading companies such as Coca-Cola India and PepsiCo India introduced various new flavours across the year. Smaller domestic companies including Hector Beverages and Pioma Industries also followed the suit.

     

    The IBA has urged the government to reverse this hike as it will retard the progress of an industry which can have a significant positive impact on India’s development, particularly in the changed governance scenario in the country.

  • Online & mobile advertising service tax levy: Industry says ouch!

    Online & mobile advertising service tax levy: Industry says ouch!

    MUMBAI: Budget 2014 brought with it the announcement that the 12.36 per cent service tax would be levied on online and mobile advertising also. These two were earlier exempt from the levy which was applicable to advertising on television. Finance minister Arun Jaitley, however, chose to continue to keep the much larger print media sector out of the tax net. Service tax on advertising on TV had been hiked to 12 per cent (plus 3 per cent sucharge) from 10 per cent in 2012, by the then government. The new levy will come into effect from a date to be notified after the passing of the Finance Bill.

     

    Indiantelevision.com spoke to digital agency heads to check out whether they were ok with the inclusion of online and mobile advertising under the service tax umbrella.

     

    “Okay to be on par with others”

    Online marketing and ad agency Pinstorm Technologies  founder & CEO Mahesh Murthy doesn’t think that it is a big issue. “We are now a grown-up industry and though the tax that’ll be mopped up here will be just around Rs 500 crore, I’m okay with us being treated on par with taxes on broadcast,” says Murthy.

     

    “The grey area here is what exactly constitutes advertising in the online world. Is a Facebook post by a brand an ad? What about a tweet by an influencer? What about native content-driven solutions being used by sites like Buzzfeed? I believe the definition of what exactly constitutes digital and mobile advertising would help a lot. Right now there isn’t any clarity,” observes Murthy.

     

    It can be noted that all agencies were charging service tax as it was in non-exempt category. Only recently it was moved to the exempt category.

     

    Online digital agency ibs MD Sabyasachi Mitter thinks the industry will be going back to how things were a little over a year back.

     

    “At the agency the billing complication is reduced as we don’t need to raise different bills for media cost and commission. Also, reconciliation becomes easier. For most clients who take input credit it will also not be a big deal. What will happen is for clients who release pay orders for all inclusive budgets, the spendable value will go down, ” mentions Mitter.

     

    Vdopia APAC VP Preetesh Chouhan says bringing online advertising in the service tax ambit will help digital players understand whether the medium has arrived or not.

     

    “As a video advertising company, our numbers show that we are witnessing an amazing organic growth of both online and mobile audiences and this is not going to change. So my opinion is that tax levied will not affect how brands are allocating spends on digital media. It could be a good opportunity to see if we have made the final transition from niche to mainstream advertising,” says Vdopia VP-APAC Preetesh Chouhan.

     

    “Time to re look at online advertising budgets”

     

    Digital L&K Saatchi & Saatchi CEO and managing partner Anil Nair expected this to happen.

     

    According to him it will mean that brand managers and media companies will have to relook at their online budgets and account for accommodating the service tax component now given that their overall budgets are already fixed.

     

    “It may augur well for social media though as monies could be diverted into content, apps etc. While online display will see a marginal cut back for a couple of quarters till it picks up again,” says Nair.

     

    “While some sections of the industry are not happy with the online and mobile advertising being included under the service tax, we believe that the philosophy of pruning the negative list in order to promote GST in the industry, is in the right direction and thus inclusion of such services in the taxation is a small price to pay in the short-term,” said PricewaterhouseCoopers leader- entertainment & media practice India Smita Jha.

     

    Foxymoron co-founder Suveer Bajaj believes the finance minister’s decision is likely to have a negative  impact as most brands and large corporations have already budgeted their online media spends for the year.

     

    “This would imply that these marketing and advertising budgets would eventually get undercut. Owing to the fact that, online and digital advertising in India is fairly nascent, this move might discourage new entrants to the industry and allocation of spends towards digital marketing. The speedy rate at which the industry was evolving now faces a setback,” adds Bajaj.

     

    Bajaj, however, says the budgetary initiative to set aside  close to Rs 500 crore for the digital India programme to ensure connectivity at the grass-root level is laudable. “Brands and organisations on digital will now also focus on the rural markets, if they haven’t already so through the online mediums. Going forward, there will be a paradigm shift in the communication and marketing strategies by digital and technology agencies to specifically target this new audience by including unique and innovative rural marketing campaigns,” he opines.

     

    HDFC Life senior executive VP marketing Sanjay Tripathy thinks this move will have an impact on the growth of this medium. He also states that this might lead to cut down on marketing spends in the coming days.

     

    According to Future Group president (customer strategy) and CEO (Bengal warriors & T24) Sandip Tarkas the announcement is a bit of a hit but not a surprise. “As we move towards a GST regime, this anomaly had to be removed. This also reflects the growing size of online ad market which is large enough to be taxed,” says Tarkas.

     

    Industry leader and Hungama Digital Media Entertainment MD & CEO Neeraj Roy speaks for the entire online industry in this comment he sent out to publications.  “The aspect of bringing back online advertising into the service tax ambit, whilst it is still a fledgling segment, is almost a conflicting action and not a welcome move.”

  • Sensex turns positive, rises 150 points

    Sensex turns positive, rises 150 points

    MUMBAI: Just as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented Budget for the year 2014-15, stock markets showed positive signs. However, by the end of the day it had fallen lower than its opening value. At 3:34 pm the Sensex closed at 25,372.75, down 72.06 points and Nifty ended trading at 7,567.75, falling by 17.25 points. Among specific sector indices Midcap index was up 0.35 per cent, Realty index up 4.67 per cent and Bank Nifty down 1.25 per cent. The IT index was down by 0.96 per cent while infrastructure index  was up by 0.15 per cent.

     

    At 3:10 pm was when the Sensex turned negative and was down 81 points at 25,363. The  Nifty down 17.3 points at 7,568 but at 1:16 pm the Sensex was trading at 158 points higher at 25,603.61 and Nifty was up  by 45 points at 7,630.

     

    At 1:00 pm the realty index was up by 1.05 per cent but at 12:20pm, the 30-share benchmark BSE sensex was down 139.75 points, or 0.6 per cent at 25,305.06 points

     

    Sensex stocks like Wipro rose by 2.2 per cent while IT giant Infosys rose by 1.5 per cent.

     

    Stocks of Sesa Sterlite fell by 2.5 per cent along with Bharti Airtel whose stocks were down by 2.4 per cent. The stock exchange’s power and banking indices were down by 1.5 per cent each.

     

    Shares of defence companies and financial services companies, with interests in insurance, rose after Jaitley raised the cap for foreign direct investment (FDI) in these two sectors by up to 49 per cent.

     

    Financial services firms Reliance Capital and Bajaj Finserv were up by 1.9 per cent each, while Max India rose by 2.7 per cent.

     

    “Difficult as it may appear, I have decided to accept this target as a challenge,” Jaitley said, adding that the fiscal deficit would be brought down to 3 per cent of GDP by 2017. “We cannot leave behind a legacy of debt for our future generations.”

     

  • TV sets to get cheaper: Budget 2014

    TV sets to get cheaper: Budget 2014

    MUMBAI: Even as India has one of the highest cable TV homes in the world, it is set to get even higher with the latest announcement from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for Budget 2014.

     

    While speaking in the Parliament, Jaitley stated that electronic goods such as TV sets and personal computers will be cheaper. He has announced proposal to make cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs cheaper as well as encourage manufacture of LED and LCD panels of TVs.

     

    The basic custom duty on LED panels below 19 inches will be made nil. CRT TVs have also been exempted from custom duty to help the poor.  The announcements have been made to boost the domestic manufacturing sector.

     

    “Cathode ray TVs are used by weaker sections who cannot afford to buy more expensive flat panel TVs. I propose to exempt colour picture tubes from basic customs duty to make cathode ray TVs cheaper. The duty concession will help revive manufacturing of TVs in the SME sector and create employment opportunities. At the same time, to encourage production of LCD and LED TVs below 19 inches in India, I propose to reduce the basic customs duty on LCD and LED TV panels of below 19 inches from 10 per cent to Nil. Further, to encourage manufacture of LCD and LED TV panels, I propose to exempt from basic customs duty specified inputs used in their manufacture,” said Jaitely. 

     

    Soon after the announcement, global analytical company providing ratings, research and risk and policy advisory services CRISIL tweeted that after this, the price of LCD/LED TVs (that constitute 51 per cent of sales) will reduce by Rs 1000.

     

    PricewaterhouseCoopers leader- entertainment & media practice India Smita Jha added, “We also believe the reductions in customs duty on LCD and LEC of sub-19 panels will also indirectly provide filip to the national digitisation agenda.”

     

     

  • National sports academies for major sports: Arun Jaitley

    National sports academies for major sports: Arun Jaitley

    MUMBAI: The sports sector in India has received a major push in the Budget 2014 presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

     

    The FM announced that provisions will be made to set up National sports academies for major sports in India. While announcing setting up of a sports university in Manipur, Jaitley also allocated Rs 100 crore for Asian and Commonwealth games training.

     

    Jaitley also announced sops for sports in Jammu and Kashmir. He proposed to allocate Rs 200 crore for upgradation of sports facilities in the state.

     

    PricewaterhouseCoopers leader- entertainment & media practice India Smita Jha said, “You would agree with me that the Sports sector in India is much in need of transformation. Budgetary allocations towards upgrading sports infrastructure, training, nurturing best talent and setting up a sports university are in the right direction though the funds allocated are significantly less than what are needed. However, we welcome the recognition from the government that this sector requires significant investment.

  • Budget 2014: Hope and growth on marketers’ mind

    Budget 2014: Hope and growth on marketers’ mind

    MUMBAI: “Ache din aane wale hai” will go down in the history of political campaigns in India as it helped Bharatiya Janta Party win by a landslide.

     

    Narendra Modi with the campaign clearly earned brownie points not only from the common man but also the marketing fraternity. While the new power packed government is gearing up to present its first budget statement, the world of business across is highly confident about the outcome.

     

    There is a list of worries that the government needs to pay attention to. Inflation continues to be high; it is currently over 6 per cent. With monsoon expected to be low this year it will also highly impact the subsidies on food, fuel and fertilizer.

     

    This has been reflecting on marketing spends by different sectors of the economy.

     

    Indiantelevision.com speaks to marketers from across sectors on their expectations from the budget.

     

    ‘Hope is new driver of positivity’

     

    Future Group president (customer strategy) and CEO (Bengal warriors & T24) Sandip Tarkas hopes that the budget addresses inflation, job creation and through it attains customer confidence.

     

    He believes that confidence will lead to consumption and thereby heightened economic activity in all spheres.

     

    “This will lead to more jobs, more ad spends, more investments and will impact the M&E industry as well. Consumption builds economy; and increased consumption resulting from increased confidence will start a virtuous cycle of investments as against a vicious cycle of holding on to spends that we are currently caught in,” he says.

     

    Philips India consumer lifestyle president ADA Ratnam is of a similar opinion. “I am expecting the government to come up with a strong and positive budget which will spur the growth. We need the good old GDP growth rate back and I’m confident we will be back on track soon,” he adds.

     

    ‘Be liberal on tax issues’

     

    Godrej Appliances business head and executive vice president Kamal Nandi has a sincere request from the FM on the direct taxes front. He is expecting an increase in the income tax slab values in line with inflation. According to him, there should be an increase exemption limit for medical expenses (from Rs 15000 to Rs 25000) under 80C.

     

    Along with this, he wishes for an increase tax exemption limit for conveyance allowance limit from Rs 800/month to Rs 1500/month with an increase limit for tax exemption under 80CC from current Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. “This will encourage purchase of hi-end and energy efficient appliances, exemption on interest, as applicable in the case of home loans, to be rolled out for consumer loans also,” he opines.

     

    As it is understood that real estate is the second largest sector that contributes to the country’s GDP growth, Tata Housing marketing – head Rajeeb Dash also thinks from the consumer point of view, there should be reduction in home loans and the slab of tax benefits should widen.

     

    “As a real estate brand what we are expecting from the budget is benefits for the end users. We know that the slowdown has hit the common people badly, with the budget announcement the economic momentum should come back in action. From a community point of view infra status is what is needed for the benefit of the developer,” mentions Dash.

     

    ‘Support the SMEs’

     

    American Swan director and CEO Anurag Rajpal thinks that there is a need to boost the growth of home grown industries to be at par with their counterparts in China and other Asian countries. He is of the opinion that a strong focus on the e-governance initiatives should streamline the procurement process of technology and services with a strong focus on participation from SMEs.

     

    He wants the policy reforms to be such that it is consistent and long-termed. Currently, he believes that homegrown industries are doing business on thin margins due to high rise in cost of raw materials and interest rates. This has been detrimental especially for small-scale industries to sustain their business.

     

    “The country today has abundance of talent but it is limited to very few skill sets. There is a need for change in the education system to further improve the skill sets of the youth which addresses the needs of different verticals. Focus on skills development will be helpful in the long-term in creation of job opportunities,” he concludes.

  • News channels reform before Modi’s big Budget 2014

    News channels reform before Modi’s big Budget 2014

    NEW DELHI: The presentation of the general budget on 10 July morning by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will perhaps be the most keenly watched analysis of the financial shape of the nation since the early 90s when the then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh presented his budget.

     

    This is also perhaps the first time in recent years that the budget is being presented by a man from the legal profession.

     

    Although only Lok Sabha TV has the permission to cover the budget live from inside the portals of Lok Sabha, almost every channel in the country – and certainly every business channel – will be taking the beam from Lok Sabha TV and then adding its own analysis programmes.

     

    CNBC TV18, Doordarshan News, Times Now, and most other News channels plan to commence the discussion on the budget from around 8.00 am with experts talking about expectations, and then beaming the live presentation from 11.00 am onwards.

     

     The entry of websites like moneycontrol.com and economylead.com streaming the budget and by social media will be an added feature this year, as many websites have already announced plans in this regard.

     

    With the new dispensation in place, the aspirations of the common man are soaring high and many are wondering whether the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party will live up to its slogan of ‘Acche din aaney waley hain.’

     

    The presentation is expected to be followed soon after by the reaction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Doordarshan and Lok Sabha TV and an exhaustive interview of Jaitley about his budget on Doordarshan.

     

    In addition, channels will cover live the press meet by senior Finance Ministry officials in the afternoon about the various facets of the budget.

     

    The coverage on CNBC TV18 will be led by Shereen Bhan, on Times Now by Arnab Goswami, and on NDTV 24×7 by Prannoy Roy. Times Now has articulated its standpoint by saying ‘Everyone deserves a piece of this super budget. Get Yours.’ The channel though also warns that it may be a bitter pill.

     

    Other channels like CNN-IBN, Aaj Tak, ABP News, Sahara Samay, P-7, News X and others have also lined up experts who will analyse the budget. The channels will also have teams that will go to Parliament House premises to get the reactions of various political leaders.

     

     For the business channels, it will be a particularly exhaustive day as they will also have a link with the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange to get the latest ups and downs.

     

     Zee Business which is a Hindi business News channel will telecast the pre-Budget discussions and analysis from 7.00 am onwards and will bring in live and uninterrupted coverage of the Budget Speech. The channel will articulate, analyse and keep the common man abreast of all the impacts that Budget is going to have on their daily lives.

     

     Interestingly themed as the ‘Abki baar, sapne sakaar,’ Zee Business will have expert panels, business leaders and corporate captains throughout the day to give their expert advice. After the Finance Minister’s speech, Zee Business will undertake a series of power packed Budget Bulletins. Some of these bulletins will comprise high power panel discussions and will involve expert comments from the nation’s top business leaders and policy makers.  Some of the key Ministers holding important portfolios have already appeared and shared their views, and will also do so during post-Budget analysis programmes. They include Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal, Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar and Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

     

    Special shows have been conceptualised with thorough research from the industry point of view without losing the ground reality and its impact on the common man. Expert opinions, industry perspective viz–a–viz market reaction and informative bulletins will be telecast.

     

    Zee Business will also organise a viewer’s engagement programme throughout the day from different parts of the country where commoners get a voice to air their reaction and feedback on the pertinent issues on budget.

     

     Zee Media CEO Samir Ahluwalia said, “With clear understanding of the expectations of the India Inc. as well as indications of the common man, Zee Business is poised to present a comprehensive Budget coverage. Through special programming and initiatives focusing on budget expectations, analysis and impact, Zee Business will once again ensure specialised coverage on Budget Day.”

     

    Added CNBC-TV18 managing editor Shereen Bhan, “The key question we will be asking is if the budget will be able to deliver. There will be a sharp focus on market reactions, the stance taken by other countries giving India a thumbs up and about investment in domestic capital. We will analyse the long term and short term ideas the government has as well as the reforms that will be taken up to revive the economy.”

  • CNBC TV-18 presents 360 degree budget special

    CNBC TV-18 presents 360 degree budget special

    MUMBAI: We are just one day away from the new BJP government’s first and most crucial decision making exercise- Budget 2014. With much hope riding on it, questions are being asked as to whether Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi will stand true to the things he had promised while he was contesting the elections.

     

    A channel that has made its presence felt since the last 14 years has lined up some interesting shows for pre budget and post budget sessions. CNBC TV-18 managing editor Shereen Bhan will host Meet the Ministers where she has been speaking to various cabinet ministers to know about their priorities for the upcoming year, most specifically finance and commerce ministers. What India Inc. Wants will analyse the business fraternity’s expectations from the Modi budget.

     

    Dalal Street’s big names will discuss the upcoming budget in What Markets Want while the big names from the FIIs and MNCs will reveal their hopes and aspirations from the new political centre and its effect on business through The Global Investor View. Some other shows include Fiscal State, Taxing Times, The Development Agenda, Budget & You and Sectoral Budget Expectations.

     

    These special shows will be accompanied by the channel’s existing shows that will have budget specials such as Young Turks, Indianomics, Forbes India Show and others.

     

    Ground events are being conducted with big names from CNBC TV-18. Shereen Bhan will host Budget Agenda while Network18 business newsroom editor-in-chief Senthil Chengalvarayan will host What India Wants to collate a macro perspective on India Inc.’s expectations. What Markets Want will have leading market and financial experts analysing what the masses and the capital markets expect from the budget. Investor Conclave, Young India and The Verdict are two more ongoing shows.

     

    Commenting on the budget programming, CNBC channels CEO Anil Uniyal said, “We are happy to set a new benchmark this year as well, with tri-lingual coverage for the first time in English, Hindi and Gujarati. This year’s budget is especially critical, as the new government has to fulfill electoral expectations of reform and development. Our special budget programming anchored by India’s finest editorial minds will bring viewers the best analysis of the challenges faced by the new Finance Minister and his decisions that will impact industry.”

     

    10 July will have live coverage of the budget through the day with bulletins and specials such as India Business Hour- Budget Special and on 11 July, breakfast shows on CNBC TV-18 will analyse the impact of the budget and a follow up show that will look into how the budget announcements will affect the common man’s investments.

     

    Sponsors for the shows include Llloyd Electrics, RPSG, askme.com, F6 Finserve, Muthoot Corp, State Bank of India.

     

    CNBC-TV18 managing editor Shereen Bhan said, “With a keen finger on the pulse of India Inc’s expectations and indications from the street, CNBC-TV18 is poised to present another defining season of budget coverage. Through a panorama of special programming and initiatives focusing on budget expectations, analysis and impact, CNBC-TV18 will once again ensure specialised coverage with the most breadth and depth, in the run up to and on budget day.”