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Industry leaders from the banking and finance sector came together to decode Budget-2022 announcements as to how the MSMEs/SMEs are going to be impacted, what will be the result of the digital rupee launch and how the policies and schemes will enable financial inclusion in the country
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In the last five years, the Indian economy has been digitalised and various state governments are also claiming that more people are being added to the formal banking system. The digitalisation of banking services leading to larger financial inclusion has been the focus of this government.
“This budget was infra-first and then welfare. The incoming of the Digital rupee will be exciting as we do see many major economies pushing towards it and India is joining that race as well. A recent survey done by the Central bank shows that while there is higher digital adoption, our cash usage is also very high,” Radhika Rao, Senior economist, DBS Bank mentions while presenting her views on budget 2022.
One of the major announcements of budget 2022 is that one lakh post offices to come under the core banking system which will include the online transfer of funds between post offices. Considering the rising digital adoption and increasing acceptance of blockchain, the digital rupee is a good initiative. There was an opportunity for the government to look at providing incentives in the insurance sector for both individuals and employers. Leaders from the insurance sector believe that insurance is a wonderful way to pass the subsidies to those who are really impacted and needy.
“A critical issue that MSMEs face is timely payment of their dues. Larger the player the larger the informal credit they take away from the MSME. This budget will lead to an integration of the different schemes that MSME already has,” Praveen Sinha, Founder and MD, Pincap states while discussing how the government shall operationally enable the existing policies for the enterprise sector.
“I think the problem can be solved if the system could ensure that all the PSUs and Government-related companies are compulsorily listed on those trading platforms,” Pincap’s Sinha further suggests while speaking at the panel discussion on decoding what the budget-2022 has in it for the banking and finance sector that was well- moderated by Abhinav Trivedi, Managing Director, BWTV and Digital, BW Businessworld.
However, there was no mention of the promises made of privatisation of public sector banks PSUs announced by the Finance Minister during the last year’s budget.
While discussing the impression on the insurance sector, Roopam Asthana, CEO and WTD, Liberty General Insurance points out, “Today the insurance industry is crying out because of the larger number of Covid claims that hit the industry. While the banking industry got some relief, the insurance sector on the account of Covid claims hit did not get any support from the government. Another area which has been overlooked is the whole issue of global warming and the increasing frequencies of the natural catastrophes.”
Budget-2022 is a roadmap for economic recovery. The life insurance industry was expecting some measures to boost penetration but the importance of financial protection has been highlighted like never before especially after the pandemic.