Wealthy Wednesdays: What women expect from Budget 2015

If wishes were horses
Pre-budget sentiments are less about hope and more about daydreams. But maybe, just maybe, this government is sincere in its professed desire to mitigate our hardships...acchhe din aayenge! In that case, I have just two items on my wish list...

—Bring down the cost of essentials; somehow, every year we manage to fool ourselves that next year will be different. Prices always spiral upwards and we end up putting up with many inconveniences.
If the 'Make in India' slogan can help deliver cheaper essentials to the aam aadmi, I am all for it. 

—The interest rates are predicted to go down, which means my bank deposits will earn less, making life just a bit more difficult for me as a senior citizen. So, if the budget announces savings options with a yield rate greater than the inflation rate, my wishes are fulfilled.
Usually rebates for income tax or changes in slab values are doled out amidst much fanfare. True, we derive momentary happiness calculating the possible reduction in tax next March, but honestly sometimes I feel like just paying the tax rather than going through endless schemes, which offer tax deductions. With an annual income of ₹5 lakhs, it makes sense to pay a 10% tax and to use the permitted rebate of ₹15,0000 for urgent necessities today than save for a distant future through tax-saving investments.
All said and done, what I truly hope for is visible results rather than rosy promises.
—Parvathi Krishnan, Retired Banker

From dreams to reality
As an entrepreneur, my hopes for the upcoming budget include...

—Launch incubation centres for women to run businesses: Incubation centres provide support functions, mentorship and resources to women entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial set-ups. This enables them to get all the expert advice and technical guidance that they need to survive for a longer time.

—Ensure supplier diversity and create more markets for women-run businesses: As women-owned business enterprises are among the fastest-growing segments, ensuring smooth entry of women entrepreneurs in more varied markets and supplier diversity would make it easier for women not hailing from business families to start enterprises of their own.

—Allocate a separate fund to promote various government schemes for women entrepreneurs: As the government has already promoted skilling under the Ministry for Skill and Entrepreneurship Development and has also identified Women Empowerment as one of the chief priorities, special funds should be allocated for women for supporting their business ideas. It should also focus on girl-child education and build specific platforms to recognise women role models.

—Ease of Raising Funds: The government needs to go beyond increasing access to banking for women. A great step would be the establishment of a bank whose specific mandate would be to fund women entrepreneurs. This will make it easier for women to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.
—Ruchira Karnik, Co-Founder and Head of Business Development at Work Better 

Shower of benefits
With the much awaited Budget around the corner I can feel the anticipation increasing as we all hope to receive a shower of benefits. Much like the India-Pakistan World Cup match we will all be glued to our TV sets, the only difference is that we will be cheering for ourselves.

—As a woman I realise that the most important thing is to feel safe. The kind of safety that allows you to freely perform anywhere whether it be work or home. In this regard it would be good to see additional measures taken to increase surveillance and security. It would be good to see the Nirbhaya scheme extended axcross India and not just the metros. Nowadays technology has improved substantially wherein we can locate vehicles via GPS, RFID, etc., and  make use of facial recognition to provide additional protection to women. Hence, the Government’s spending should make adequate provisions for these essential measures, which will indeed help in creating a safe and secure world for women in India.

—Another essential initiative is the sanitation drive, the implementation of which would certainly improve the lifestyle for so many women across India, who are still struggling with this basic requirement.

—With regards to individual working women, it would be great to regain the additional exemption limit on their personal income tax, which was introduced a few year back. As of now the exemption limit is the same for men and women. Such measures should be introduced again to encourage women to work.

—The Government could also initiate out-of-the-box measures, like special savings or pension schemes specially designed for women which would provide extra monetary benefits and additional investment limits for such schemes, which would certainly help in securing their future.  

—Another important thing that working women always struggle with is obtaining decent childcare facilities. Nowadays a good childcare facility costs approximately ₹10,000 to ₹20,000 a month. Currently there are no exemptions for such facilities, which in today’s day and age are as important as providing education to your kids. This could be a creative way to encourage women with kids to step out and provide for their families.
 
—Lastly, it is great to see that the role of Indian women entrepreneurs is finally getting its fair share of recognition. The core financal needs for women entrepreneurs has always been a challenge, and it is certainly the need of the hour to reduce the lengthy and tedious processes and other obstacles that hinder innovation among women. Banks should be able to provide loans at lower interest rates to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit of women.  

—On the lines of beti bachaw beti padav initiative, it would be good to see a budget allotted towards positive measures, which would actually encourage people to nuture the girl child.
—Priya Krishnan, Fixed Income Specialist