NEW DELHI: In the upcoming Union Budget, the Centre may bestow infrastructure and industrial status to new sectors in order to bolster many pandemic-affected enterprises.
Several sectors and sub-industries, including hospitality, vehicle retail, specific diganotics facilities, and enterprises engaged in the installation of EV charging stations, among others, are expected to receive the status, according to industry experts. These industries will be able to take advantage of tax advantages, incentives, and credit at cheaper interest rates thanks to the infrastructure tag.
"Greenfield sectors or those that would require capex augmentation to enable them survive the pandemic can be viewed through the prism of an infrastructure sector," according to Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Director and Practice Leader, Crisil Infrastructure Advisory.
"Many of the already designated areas also require a continuous policy push to assist them gain visibility in terms of both quantity and timeliness of applicability." Until now, activities such as laying power and telecom transmission and distribution lines, roads, highways, and railways, as well as the construction of facilities such as hospitals, affordable housing, power generation units, water treatment plants, SEZs, and certain types of hotels, have been given this status.
Budget session of Parliament to begin from Jan 31, Budget to be presented on this day