ITV

Tag: Budget 2014

  • Government should address the long-pending insurance bill: Sanjay Tripathy

    Government should address the long-pending insurance bill: Sanjay Tripathy

    Life insurance is one of the most important segments of the financial services industry and has contributed immensely to boost various sectors in the economy through its ability to make long term investments, and provide huge employment opportunities. Currently the sector is reeling under tough economic environment and regulatory changes that have been instituted in last couple of years. The industry needs support from the government of India, to help it in further contributing to nation building in the coming years.

     

    As an immediate step, the new government should address the following to boost growth in the life insurance industry:

     

    1. Re-looking at the current investment limits for tax rebates and certain current tax provisions would augur well for the industry. Life insurance is a socio economic instrument. In absence of any strong social security system by the government, at least the investment in life insurance premiums should be given additional limit of at least Rs 1 lakh, instead of clubbing the same with other investments u/s 80C of the Income tax Act, 1961. This will inculcate the habit of systematic and consistent long-term savings among retail investors. The present limit of Rs 1 lakh has not been increased in the past several years.

     

    2. To encourage customers to meet their retirement needs, investment in pension premium should be given separate deduction. Currently, such investments are clubbed with 80C investments. Annuity has been an unpopular investment choice because of its tax disadvantage. The maturity proceeds from Annuity are currently fully taxable as income, which effectively means that income is taxed twice.

     

    3. The current limit of Rs 15,000 in health insurance must be enhanced to at least Rs 50,000. Currently an individual gets a deduction of Rs 15,000 for health insurance premiums paid (apart from a similar deduction on premiums paid on the lives of their parents).

     

    Growing inflation has increased the cost of medical treatment. This has made it necessary for health insurance to be taken by every individual. In order to help the common man in meeting increased medical costs, offering more tax incentives would help in promoting health insurance.

     

    4. The service tax charged to insurance companies has been increased to 12 per cent from the existing 10 per cent and the rate on life insurance policies where entire premium is not toward risk cover increased to 3 per cent for the first year and maintained at 1.5 per cent for subsequent years. At the same time mutual funds are exempted from such tax.

     

    Overall, the change in tax has rendered life insurance at a position of disadvantage vis-a-vis MFs, PPFs, NPS, etc. Revisiting these changes will definitely provide the necessary impetus to help attract funds into long term savings and protection products offered by the life insurance industry.

     

    5. Armed with an absolute majority, the new government is expected to address the long pending insurance bill, which looks to raise the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in the sector from the current 26 per cent to 49 per cent. FDI relaxation would encourage long-term fund inflow that would both encourage the growth of insurance in India as well as provide the government with access to funds to aid infrastructure growth.

     

    Moreover, insurance industry has seen negative job creation as number of agents and employees have been on the wane. FDI would get in greater investments into the sector and make it an attractive proposition for good talent.

     

    We also expect clarity to emerge on the road map of DTC and GST. This would help the industry better plan in the implementation of the new regulations.

     

     (These are purely personal views of HDFC Life senior executive vice president marketing product, digital & e-commerce Sanjay Tripathy and indiantelevision.com does not subscribe to these views.)

  • Budget 2014 is an opportunity for M&E to grow: Sudhanshu Vats

    Budget 2014 is an opportunity for M&E to grow: Sudhanshu Vats

    The new government’s overall inclination towards development brings with it great optimism about the new Budget (2014) for me – not just as the head of an organisation but also as a representative of the Media and Entertainment industry. In fact, the Media & Entertainment industry experienced a whiff of fresh air with the new I&B Minister’s thoughts at the recent CII CEO roundtable. Eminent colleagues from across the industry raised key issues, which Shri Javadekar patiently heard and responded to – a sign of the new government’s strong preference for accountability and focus on governance.

     

    The industry is poised for exponential growth during the term of this new government – almost doubling every year. It has the potential to provide almost six million direct jobs and also add to the economy as an aid to tourism.

     

    After the extensive discussions and dialogue with colleagues and members of this bustling industry, I’ve penned some suggestions that can fuel the industry to reach never-before levels of growth.

     

    Accountability

     

    Accountability is the one thing that lacks processes in the Media & Entertainment space. A single-window clearance mechanism for permissions, especially for films and events, will motivate the industry to concentrate more on revenue streams rather than go around in circles. The wish list would remain only partially addressed without queries and licenses becoming more time-bound.

     

    And while we expect an evolution in policies, keeping them clear and consistent with foresight at the back of the mind constantly, future action can be planned at the organisational level with greater certainty and generate opportunities for employment in large numbers, thus contributing significantly to the economy.

     

    Pragmatic Policies

     

    The media and entertainment industry is currently valued at USD 20 plus billion with significant growth potential. We’re poised to catapult to the next level with a few pragmatic policy reforms. Additionally, the M&E industry has the capacity to generate almost six million jobs directly and also further boost sectors like tourism.

     

    More Spending Power

     

    Rationalising Income Tax slabs is a key step towards taking the burden off the consumer’s shoulders. He will have more money to spend on his favourite means of recreation – entertainment.

     

    Tax Abatement

     

    And while we are on the topic of the Media & Entertainment industry and its role in the economy, one of the biggest losses I believe that it incurs is almost the one-third of revenue that it gives away in taxes and multiple licence fees over and above recurring commissions. These need to be re-evaluated and rationalised. In anticipation of GST implementation, entertainment and service taxes can be lowered to a more reasonable level.

     

    Considering the premise of development that the new government has adopted, we expect a growth oriented budget, laying down a clear and consistent long-term roadmap. These steps that I have attempted to chalk out, will only allow the entire industry to collectively entertain India even more, even better!

     

    (These are purely personal views of CII National Committee on Media & Entertainment chairman & Viacom18 Media group CEO Sudhanshu Vats and indiantelevision.com does not subscribe to these views.)

  • Bloomberg TV India asks ‘Will The Government Walk the Talk’

    Bloomberg TV India asks ‘Will The Government Walk the Talk’

    MUMBAI: The year 2014 saw a landmark in the Indian political system with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coming to power with a landslide majority.

     

    Since then, all eyes have been on the new government’s moves and with the budget just a couple of weeks away, news channels especially the ones which cover business have once again gone into a tizzy. It is time for them to decipher the next phase.

     

    A channel that prides itself in being a part of the biggest financial network in the world is setting a benchmark for the upcoming budget. ‘Will They Walk the Talk’, essentially Prime Minister Narendra Modi and finance minister Arun Jaitley, is the question that Bloomberg TV India will seek answers to through its three week long special budget programming. 

     

    Bloomberg TV India editor Vivek Law points out that the new BJP government is riding on high expectations from both Indian as well as global investors. “The budget is the first detailed statement that will be very closely watched. We have heard the government’s campaign and manifesto that clearly said that once in power, they will resurrect the economy. Stock market is all about the foreign institutional investors (FII) and this market is only standing on the legs of the money that FIIs are bringing in. It is very important how they perceive the performance of the government and what this budget will give them,” he says.

     

    Keeping this in mind, the channel has decided to begin its budget programming from 30 June, dedicating 60 to 70 per cent of time addressing the global audience.  In the run up to the budget which is fixed for 10 July, the various programmes will focus on India Inc, global view, youth and personal finance wherein discussion will be on what should be the government’s agenda and post the budget it will analyse what Jaitley has put forth for year 2014-15. “For the last few years, Indian investors have not been participating in the equity market much.  They are now keen to know if it is time to get back in the overall growth. Once the budget is announced we will discuss whether they have really managed to bring back the retail investor into the market,” adds Law.

     

    Shows will focus primarily on the global investor with Vivek Law, Harsha Subramaniam, Anupriya Nair and Priyank Lakhia leading the pack. Panel discussions both in and out of studio have been arranged in Mumbai/Delhi, youth discussions in campuses and market and corporate shows in public locations. On 10 July, Bloomberg TV India says it will have global investors and experts from Hong Kong, Dubai, Sydney, London, Tokyo, Singapore and the US on board stating whether the budget sticks to its word or not.

     

    The channel will also be leveraging its Bloomberg Terminal that has close to 350,000 subscribers world over and allows them to watch the channel live. “Given the fact that we are a JV, we have access to the entire network & content and that’s a huge advantage. If you are outside India and you want cutting edge live information, you can only get it from our terminal,” says Law.

     

    Even though focus is on global investors, sponsors will not be very different with the primary sponsors from BFSI, automobiles and the consumer durables sector who are being approached. A 360 degree marketing campaign created by Triton Communications has been designed including outdoor, TV, print, online, social media, radio, ground activations and PR to promote the budget programming with spends close to Rs 80 lakhs to Rs 90 lakhs, the channel says.

     

    Since 2012 the broadcaster has aimed at positioning the channel as an extension of its parent channel Bloomberg. Law is certain that it is not a day trader channel. “You will not get tips or any buy/sell calls on our channel. We reach out to the aspirational and influential audience, who are not necessarily rich. It could be the judiciary, political establishment, bureaucracy, top corporate professionals or global investors. This is in sync with the way our channel is world over,” he says. To add to this, changes have also been incorporated in the channel’s design and more are to be expected, soon.