A big relief for NBFCs is their inclusion under the SARFAESI Act. NBFCs with assets of Rs.500 crore and above have now the opportunity to use SARFAESI Act against wilful defaulters. This was a much needed level playing field required for NBFCs. The NBFC of course should be registered with RBI.
Housing for all objective focussed at year 2022 sounds more rhetoric. However, if implemented seriously, this would mean 6 crore more houses to be built of which 4 crores would be in rural and 2 crore in urban. With the supply going up, this could put pressure on the real estate prices. On the investment side, the FM has encouraged Real Estate Investment Trusts by rationalising the capital gains at the time of exit. This should help unlock funds which could be further used in other projects.
On the whole, This is a positive budget. It is indeed growth oriented. After having relaxed the norms in the earlier budget for individual tax payers, with further relaxations on medical, increase in transport allowance limit etc. the FM has tried to reach out to the middle class. The phased reduction of Corporate tax rates from 30% to 25%, over a period of 4 years, is indeed welcome. There has been an attempt to focus spends on sectors that have a higher multiplier effect on the economy. The announcement that GST will get implemented from 1st April 2016 should be a great encouragement to the industry. The gold monetisation scheme could help in making the gold market more dynamic in the country. Attempts to strengthen the social security net through Universal Social Security System and Atal Pension Yojana are steps in the right direction. The implementation though needs to be seen.