Education, hospitality, retail sectors seek concessions, relief from government in Union Budget 2022

Bengaluru: Education, travel & hospitality and retail have been the worst hit sectors for the past 2 years since the pandemic hit.

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On one hand, their business was hit due to obvious reasons and on the other were recurring expenses such as huge rentals, salaries, maintenance and utility bills. So far, no statistical surveys have been conducted to measure the irrecoverable loss faced by these sectors but the crisis has been visibly huge.

"Covid 2nd wave changed the socio-economic dynamics of our country. We lost around 60 - 70% of all India admissions suddenly due to the exorbitant rise in Covid cases in mid-2021," laments Dr V Kumar, Principal, Vogue Institute of Art & Design, a reputed design institute in Bengaluru.

In the upcoming Union Budget 2022, Dr Kumar expects exemption from GST for all capital and recurring purchases of goods and services at least for next 3 to 4 years which may be a minimum lean period required for recuperation.

"Besides that, the staff and students group medical insurance as well as accident insurance premium borne by the Government would certainly give a sigh of relief to the institutions to a certain extent," requests Dr Kumar

The National Education Policy (NEP) also directs attention to the fact that the evolving education system would be unlike the pre-crisis era. The budget for the education sector, therefore, should be guided by the pandemic and aligned to the NEP.

As far as the hospitality sector is concerned, it seems to be still bearing the brunt of the repeated lockdowns. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the contribution of travel and tourism to India's GDP was 6.8% in 2019. It fell to 4.7% in 2020 due to the coronavirus-induced lockdowns and travel restrictions around the world.

"The night & weekend curfew have dampened our sales. At such times our focus is to cover up with delivery sales through online aggregators. But when our sales are impacted it becomes a challenge to manage our fixed expenses. With the weekend lockdown, when typically, every restaurant would clock the highest sale, it became a bigger challenge," complains Ramya Ravi, Director, Nandhana Group, one of the biggest chain of hotels & restaurants in Bengaluru.

"Therefore, we certainly look forward to seeing some subsidy to manage the same. We hope to see an ease in taxation and support to employees who have been laid off," demands Ramya Ravi.

The story of the retail sector is no different. According to the Retailers Association of India, (RAI) the retail industry which had achieved 96% of pre covid sales by Sep 2021 has again started seeing a downward trend in footfalls owing to the rise in Omicron cases.

Hence, the government must introduce some relief measures for the sector in the Union Budget which contributes to over 10% of the country's GDP. This can further boost the sector and result in a growth in consumption.

"I expect the government to boost the sector by providing ease in financial support from lenders and improvise policies to help the sector get back on its feet," suggests Anil Lala, Managing Director, Fanzart, a luxury fan retailer with over 100 showrooms across the country.

Reduced GST would give an impetus to both the buyers and sellers. EMI holidays on loans would also be a boon for small retailers and franchisees.

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