Experts from education and HR industry share their views about the outlook for the salaried class and education sector from the budget  

Sambhav Rakyan, Head of Talent and Rewards Consulting, India at Willis Towers Watson anticipates a sense of contentment among the salaried class with the interim budget saying, “The large base of salaried middle class will welcome today’s budget announcement, especially the full income tax rebate for individual taxpayers with annual income up to Rs 5 lakh and the raising of standard tax deduction for salaried persons to Rs 50,000. Also, no tax on the notional rent of the second self-occupied house will also bring cheer to this class. These steps will have a positive impact on disposable income and savings for this section, which in turn can increase domestic expenditure and enhance the sense of security amongst the salaried class.”

Sashi Kumar, Managing Director, Indeed India looks forward to the government's initiatives which can provide the much-needed job boost to the Indian economy. He said, "With the Government’s measures to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), both in terms of easing taxation as well as increasing uptake, the sector is likely to see a ‘job boost’ in the months ahead. The budget 2019 is progressive and forward-looking with a much-needed focus on Digital India and the Indian labor force.”

Prateek Bhargava, CEO, Mindler looked disappointed at the lack of focus towards education saying, “While it is an interim budget, many important measures have been announced for critical sectors like agriculture and defence. Education meanwhile has not received the same attention. Though the FM has rightly put a lot of emphasis on harnessing youth energy through various government schemes aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and startup culture, one would have like to see more allocation for technology upgradation and teacher’s training, the two critical elements that will allow Indian schools to leverage the power of digital solutions and prepare students for new age jobs and careers. Allocation for funds to drive career counseling and guidance initiatives, needing urgent attention, has been ignored yet again. We hope to see the same addressed in the full budget.”

Rituparna Chakraborty, President, Indian Staffing Federation had mixed reviews for the budget, “Whilst the Indian Staffing Federation had several expectations from this year’s budget -  we did not see specific actions that would improve ease of doing business, employability and formal employment. Reduction of the financial burden on the employers who now have to pay for 26 weeks of maternity benefits, employees having the choice and flexibility on salary and reduction of GST on outsourced services for higher education  – have not been addressed. Having said this, what is heartening is to see the government take a long-term view of growth and outline its vision for 2030, vide its 10 developmental themes. We also think the government’s focus on simplifying GST and tax administration,  investment commitment for improving rural economy, internal trade, infrastructure, and the MSME sector will be good for the Indian economy. This augurs well from an employment perspective – and we hope this helps in the creation of more formal jobs – which will not only aid the growth of staffing industry in India but also spur the overall economic progress.”