Budget 2024: 'India's demographic potential remains untapped due to...,' Ronnie Screwvala's wishlist for FM Sitharaman

Entrepreneur and investor Ronnie Screwvala has sought some tax breaks - in the upcoming budget - for online education to build a culture of lifelong learning and skilling. Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman will present the Budget 2024 on July 23.  

Ahead of the budget, Screwvala, co-founder of online learning platform upGrad, said India's demographic potential remains untapped due to a mindset gap. He said 60%-plus of 1.4 billion people fall within the working age bracket. "Let's shift from mere ambition to a culture of lifelong learning/skilling."

The Budget 2024 can make it happen, the investor said and added some of the steps the government can take such as more public-private partnerships, tax breaks in 80G for skilling, and reduced GST on life-long education. 

Screwvala also suggested reforms for digital-first education to empower rural India besides taxation reforms for ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). "It's time to build a talent nation by focusing on systems, habits & skills! #Budget2024," he said. 

Ahead of the budget presentation, top industry leaders are sharing their wish list with the finance minister. 

Helios Capital's Samir Arora has urged the finance minister to not tighten the capital gains tax regime. "It is easiest to not change anything that is working well (this long note is to basically say in simple terms - please do not tinker with capital gains taxes, term, rate etc. and let it be)," Arora wrote, suggesting such moves could unsettle the stock market 

Investors are concerned about potential tweaks in capital gains tax — either through increased rates or by extending the holding period from one year to three.  

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Thursday meet eminent economists to elicit their views and suggestions for the upcoming Budget. This will be the first major economic document of the Modi 3.0 government, which is expected to lay the road map for making India a developed nation by 2047. 

Sitharaman has held discussions with various stakeholders, including economists and captains of Indian industry, on the forthcoming Budget. Several experts have urged the government to provide tax relief to the common man to boost consumption and come out with steps to check inflation and accelerate economic growth. 

The economy has recorded a growth rate of 8.2 per cent in 2023-24 Earlier in February, Sitharaman came out with an interim budget for 2024-25 in view of the Lok Sabha elections.