The Big Picture:

Every year, the union budget is one of the most keenly watched events in the country. This year, the first budget of “Amrit Kaal” have fueled expectations for laying down the blueprint for PM’s vision for India@100. Was it successful in doing so? What were the key takeaways? In this article, we will have a bird's eye view of the budget and try to unravel the undercurrents behind it. 

The Vision for Amrit Kaal: The government’s vision for the Amrit Kaal is for an empowered and inclusive economy that includes a technology-driven and knowledge-based economy with strong public finances, and a robust financial sector. To achieve this, Jan Bhagidari through Sabka Saath Sabka Prayas is essential. The economic agenda for achieving this vision focuses on three things: (i) facilitating ample opportunities for citizens, especially the youth, to fulfil their aspirations (ii) providing strong impetus to growth and job creation and (iii) strengthening macro-economic stability. 

In line with this, the Union Budget 2023-24 focused on 7 priorities - the ‘Saptrishis’ which are as follows:

• Inclusive Development- The government’s philosophy of Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas includes development for farmers, women, youth, tribal groups, and other weak sections of society. It moves forward to agriculture for building digital public infrastructure, set-up an agricultural accelerator fund, and making India a global level for millets (Sree Anna). There is an agricultural credit of Rs.20 lakh crore targeted at animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries. Moreover, 157 nursing colleges are to be developed and a new plan is envisaged to promote research in pharmaceuticals. They have also announced to set up of a National Digital Library for children and adolescents. 

• Reaching the last mile- The government has formed a Ministry of Tribal groups and developed the department of the North-Eastern region in India. Hence, a decision to provide financial assistance for sustainable micro irrigation in drought-prone areas of Karnataka has been taken. There will be many more teachers assigned to Eklavya Model. The setup for the digitalization of ancient inscriptions will be done.

• Infrastructure & investment- An investment in infrastructure and productive capacity has been in the bigger picture to focus on impacting growth and development. Thus, there has been an increase in capital outlay to Rs.10 lakh crore which is a growth of 33%. Also, the highest ever capital outlay has been provided for Railways of ₹2.4 crores. Furthermore, the facility of extension for one year of 50-year interest-free loans has been given to state governments. 

• Unleashing the potential- An initiative to ease out the business procedures has been reduced by lowering more than 39,000 compliances and 3,400 legal provisions have been decriminalized. Development and working with AI in India, establishments of e-courts, entity DigiLocker, setting up labs for 5G services, research grants for lab-grown diamonds (LGD), and national data governance are some of the areas where the government has taken a focal point. The government also has plans for AI (Artificial Intelligence) to be made in India to serve India’s problems and announced a lot of measures in this direction.

• Green growth- The government has given a lifestyle for the environment to continue with the movement of an environment-friendly lifestyle. To build a green India, the budget cited that India will continue to move towards net zero carbon emissions by 2070. It also gave ₹19,700 crore outlay to green hydrogen and energy transition outlay of about ₹35,000 crores. In addition to this, a green credit program will also be activated for generating sustainable and responsive actions by firms and localities.

• Youth Power- In order to let the youth achieve their dreams, the government has made a launch of PMKVY 4.0 to skill, re-skill, and upskill the “Amrit Peedhi” with the latest upbringings like AI, robotics, and 3D printing, etc. The appreciation for handicrafts products has also been an inclusion by establishing units malls. This would additionally promote the sale of ODOP (One District-One Product).

• Financial Sector- With the encouragement of the financial sector and to additionally boost this sector, some initiatives were taken. Setting up the National Financial Information Registry, increment of senior citizen savings scheme from ₹15 lakhs to ₹30 lakhs, and facility for women i.e., Mahila Samman Bachat Patra were some of them.

The Budget Estimates: 

• Growth: India’s economic growth in the next year is estimated to be 6.5% in real terms in FY24, being the fastest-growing economy. 

• Rupee Comes From: (i) Borrowings & Other Liabilities: 34% (ii) GST: 17% (iii) Corporation tax: 15% (iv) Income Tax: 15% (v) Excise Duties: 7% (vi) Customs: 4% (vii) Non-Tax Receipts: 6% (viii) Non-Debt Capital Receipts: 2%

• Rupee Goes To: (i) Interest payments: 20% (ii) States’ share of taxes & duties: 18% (iii) Central Sector Schemes: 17% (iv) Finance Commission & Other Transfers: 9% (v) Centrally Sponsored Scheme: 9% (vi) Other Expenditure: 8% (vii) Subsidies: 7% (viii) Defence: 8% (ix) Pensions: 4%

• Expenditure: For 2023-24, the total expenditure is estimated to be ₹45.03 lakh crore higher than ₹41.87 lakh crore (2022-23). 

• Receipts: The revised estimated total receipts (other than borrowings) in 2023-24 are expected to be ₹27.2 lakh crore, under which the net tax receipts are ₹20.9 lakh crore. This implies that the government has the fiscal capacity to maintain the support and increase capital expenditure when required.

• Deficit: There was a retainment of the fiscal deficit target of 6.4% in the revised estimate for 2022-23. The fiscal deficit for FY2023-24 is expected to be 5.9% of GDP and it will be brought down to below 4.5% by 2025-26.

• Tax Revenues: The revised estimates pegged for gross tax revenue of ₹30.43 lakh crore in the current fiscal. Considering both, direct and indirect taxes, revenues are projected to up-level by 10.45% to ₹33.61 lakh crore in 2023-24.

Tax Reforms: 

The indirect tax proposals broadly aimed to promote exports, boost the domestic economy, enhance domestic value addition, and encourage green energy and mobility. In direct taxes, the income tax rebate limit was increased from ₹5,00,000 to ₹7,00,000 under the new tax regime. This new tax regime for individuals and HUF would be the default regime, while taxpayers are given the option to continue with the old regimes. 

Conclusion:

Continuity is good and surprises are bad. The government's last full budget before the elections treads a very cautious path. It did not carry any big bang surprises, except for some relief to the middle class in form of tax slabs in the new regime. However, it does maintain continuity and continues to build on structures rather than tinker here and there for appeasement. As expected, the budget continues to build on capital investments, infrastructure, job creation, domestic manufacturing, green energy, start-ups, digital economy and agriculture support. The Indian economy today is a bright spot in the global scene and this budget does well in not falling into the trap of populism and instead maintains the balance as is required. The budget surely adds to the vision for India@100 and makes sure that we continue to be a shining star on the global front.

By: Mr Vishal Baxi, NJ Wealth Partner, Surat Ring-Road Branch.

In a world that believes in manifestation, higher power and superstitions and puts trust in gurus, gems and gimmicks, there are still a sane few who have managed to keep themselves away from these. Practicing simple things and preaching about even simpler things is what I believe in.

The power that I have a certain inclination for is the faith that I have in myself and the practicality that my experiences have offered me so far. Everything has to work, even money. Branching out your income sources happens when you allow your money to work. Put it in places where it can continuously offer you a chance to change with the dynamism of the market while ensuring that the risk is according to your risk profile.

Starting with term plans and smart investing, personal finance is no rocket science. It is mere

judgment, strategizing and the ability to take a little bit of risk.

As a part of the financial education services we teach our clients good money habits and the thumb rules of investing and talk about the untangling of investing strategies. These are all the things that we have tried and tested.

I start with practicing and then preaching. My life journey is a testimony of this very thing. I started with a small amount of SIP and kept increasing it (which has now grown substantially) believing that one does not necessarily have to be wealthy to begin investing but has to have an

intention and plan that investing will make them wealthy.

Here is a list of things I undertook and still operating on:

• I tend to keep 9 months' expenses as a contingency fund in Liquid and Arbitrage funds.

• I have kept a provision of 15 lakhs Family floater Health insurance for my family.

• I invested over 15 times my annual Income by Term plan.

• I have been successfully investing for my goals like Financial Freedom, Child Education etc.

• I started a SIP when my daughter was born and started investing for her recurring annual educational expenses as well as making provisions for her higher education.

• I also started a SIP equal to the EMI of my previous car. When I paid off the car loan in 2017, I had enough to buy an automatic top-notch, high-end car from it in 2021.

• I also started a SIP for foreign travel that enables me to see beautiful places around the world every 2 years.

Fortunately, I could formulate a strategic plan to provide Health Insurance to my team and have cultivated a habit of having a contingency plan for them. A well chalked out goal based investing from all the members of my team.

Things I practise before I preach:

• Created a monthly budget which my family and I follow stringently.

• We are following the mantra:

Income (-) Savings = Expenses and not Income (-) Expenses = Savings

• Buy things only when I need them and use a credit card to earn points. My usage of credit cards is not need-based but rather advantage based.

• Invest a lump sum when I have a surplus for the long term.

Earlier as I mentioned that I practise simple things and preach even simpler things. The sole reason is to show everyone that life is as complicated as you make it or as easy as you make it. What a PPF can do, a SIP can do the same thing and so can be trading in stocks. The art here lies in understanding that you cannot expect a fish to climb trees or a bird to live in water.

Investing is not only about getting what you need but also creating enough space to accommodate what you might need in the future and making provisions for the same. For me, wealth building is one goal that I don’t want to reach. Yes! You read it correctly. I want to continue chasing this goal in order to keep my money working. Eventually, wealth will be produced as a by-product of this constant chase.

To understand that investing is a fruit of smart work and not just hard work, let’s talk about the simple concept of ‘Pain is Gain’. The least you have to do while investing is to perform research, and get adequate knowledge before you even begin to think of planning your portfolio structure.

The very idea, thought and understanding is considered as the pain you take to make gains.

Personal finance like its name is a customisable approach to saving. Every profile is different and needs to be treated accordingly. Some trends in the market may work for some people and some may not. This is exactly when strategy comes into play.

The most important strategy and thumb rule - is to be involved in your investments. Just handing over your assets to an advisor to invest in, is not going to help you make the cut. When you as an individual take responsibility for your profile and in a collaborative manner contemplate your next move is when you shall truly reap fruitful results of your planning.

Around 25 Lac new demat accounts have been opened during the lockdown phase. Lot of retail investors have hooked on to the direct Equity bandwagon. Most of these investors happen to be so called “millennials” who are using “new age digital platforms” to participate in Equity story. This is being portrayed as “growing maturity” among investors. Investing when markets were low. Discussions are happening about these “smart” investors who prefer to invest directly in stocks over the boring Mutual Fund route.

But seriously is that the case? Young Millennials flocking to stock markets, buying shares directly is probably the most disastrous thing happening to Long Term Equity investing in the country. These first time investors have all the time in the world, have access to loads of information from various apps, websites, blogs and have hit the Equity Markets to make a quick buck. When you see good quality stocks down by 40-50%, obviously many people are enticed to invest and make some money out of it. But do you really end up investing in “good quality stocks”?

In Equity trading, only one person makes the money, the stock broker. If making money in Equity markets would have been so easy, we would have Equity crorepatis in every nook and corner of the country. The general progression of an Equity trader, Level 1, buy large cap stocks from sensex/nifty. Stocks like Infosys, TCS, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, etc. Make some money in these stocks due to market volatility in week 1 or week 2. Then you broaden your horizons and start looking at mid & small cap stocks and realise probably you would have made more money by investing in them(Indusind Bank/Axis Bank). Level 2 – Exit Large cap, Move to mid cap and small caps. Now start observing stocks available at cheap prices, less than Rs. 10 or in some cases Re 1 and see how phenomenally these stocks move or watch stocks hitting daily upper circuits and wish you had bought them. Level 3 – Move to Penny stocks or stocks in the news like Vodafone, Alok Industries, Ruchi Soya, etc. The super risk takers discover F&O segment in stage 3 and realise with same kind of position or investment, they could have made 5 to 10 times more profit!!

The thrill in equity markets is unparalleled, the volatility gives adrenaline rush to investors, till the time markets are moving upward and you keep making money, you keep putting in more money in order to increase your profits in the short term. But then one fine day, BOOM! the markets start changing course. Now investors are stuck with illiquid stocks whose price don't move or stocks perennially hitting lower circuits. In the initial stage, the concept of averaging comes in. Keep buying at lower levels to average out the cost. After a point though, you realise you are stuck badly. All the money invested or earned is wiped off significantly. Then you curse the Equity markets and pledge never to invest again and conclude with your experience that nobody makes money in Equity.

Don't believe me! So which stock did most of Direct Equity investors have in their portfolio in 2019. The answer is Yes Bank. As of Dec 19 end, retail investors collectively held 48% in the bank. Never mind, all of them have become long term investors now with 3 year lock in on their investment. And the stock price has slid from Rs. 400 to around Rs 25. And this is not the first time, it has happened before also. Remember 2008, Reliance Power. 40 Lac retail investors were shareholders in the company. Yes 40 Lac!! The stock was a craze during its IPO with subscription of some 7 Lac Cr against IPO size of 11,000 Cr. From a price of Rs 250+ in 2008, few days back it touched a low of Rs 1 (it's trading around Rs. 4 now). While the millennials might enjoy dabbling in this penny stock now, Old investors have lost 98% of their money!

Is it Easy or Tough to make money in Equity Markets then?

Money can definitely be made in the stock markets. You need to have loads of patience, research skills, be updated about markets, sectors, industries, global and local trends, changing regulations, economic conditions, etc etc. Sounds crazy, isn't it. Opt for a simpler option, invest in Equity through the Mutual Fund route instead and keep patience.

Stock market investing is a specialised skill. It's a huge industry world wide. There are thousands of books written on it, we have had nobel laureates deciphering how to invest in stocks. From Benjamin Graham to Peter Lynch to Warren Buffett, there are gurus who have made money as investors. There are also lots of predictions and forecasts but truth is nobody knows what's going to happen in the markets tomorrow. Every new day is a day worth learning in the stock markets.

Investment mistakes can be very expensive.

When experienced fund managers, analysts, researchers with all their experience, knowledge and resources can't crack this stock market code, it's a bit tough for retail investors, esp for those who have started recently during the lockdown mainly to kill boredom. Value investing or Growth. P/E model or P/B model. Profits or cash flows or market share. There are too many variables in the play for buying the right stock at the right price. It is not as easy as it looks like.

Still, you may argue that ok I don't buy crap companies or penny stocks and I am a having a long term horizon as an investor and am not a trader. I can still do it. Well, you may not be wrong. But, being a large corporation today making loads of profits doesn't guarantee long term performance. Remember market leaders like Nokia, Kodak, Lehmann Brothers. To add more, Blackberry, Yahoo, IBM. All market leaders of yore, have now gone kaput. Too American na! OK lets talk about India.

Say you were in 2001 and you choose companies to invest from sensex, top 30 companies in India. So, you may buy Satyam, MTNL, NIIT, ZEE! Yes, they were all part of Sensex in 2001. You will be surprised to know that 50% of the companies in Sensex in 2001 were not part of it in 2010! Companies who were part of Sensex in 2010 included Reliance Communications, DLF, JP Associates, Reliance Infra, Tata Motors! Some of these companies have ceased to exist, while some have performed really badly. Even stock of Reliance Industries gave close to 0% return between 2008 to 2017. BHEL, a Navratna company delivered a 0.1% return from 2000 to 2010. Only 10 stocks, have remained as a part of Sensex from 2001 till 2020. So should you buy them? Is there a guarantee that they will continue to deliver superior results in future too? Nobody knows!

Sensex has delivered 15%+ compounded return since it's inception. From 100 to 36,000, 360 times in last 40 years. But still large number of investors have ended up losing money in Equity markets. This has happened because retail investors can't control their emotions and end up buying and holding on to wrong stocks at wrong time. It is much easier to book profits but our ego, doesn't allow us to book losses. Rather than investing we are more in love with the stock. Due to this behaviour, we end up selling our winners (as they give short term profit) and are left with losers ('cause we expect them to regain their price). Investors behaviour is highly irrational at times, in fact the subject of investor behaviour itself is so complicated, that books have been written on it and nobel prizes have been awarded to those trying to decode it.

It's really a shame that media sings the praise of the fact that too many investors have joined Equity bandwagon. Media should actually start cautioning such new investors and teach them about perils of direct Equity investing. Stories like millenials going digital might sound fancy but truth be told what we learn from history is that we don't learn from history. Human behaviour in general and investor behaviour in particular has not changed even in the developed markets, who are having more than 100 years of investing in Equity Markets.

Only time will tell whether this hypothesis is right or wrong. The truth of the matter is when in all other walks of life be it health, nutrition, beauty, home decor we are ready to take professional advice and pay hefty fee to a professional, it always makes sense that when it comes to our own money, it's beneficial to take expertise of not only a professional fund manager but also getting the right advice from a financial expert, who can make a financial plan for you and guide you to invest your hard earned money according to your needs and risk appetite. And if you like speculation, believe me, the thrill will be much more in a casino!

Written by Mr. Husaini Kanchwala - Head of Investments, NJ Group.

For any feedback send mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

"Disclaimer : All stocks mentioned in the article are for example purpose only. NJ or its employee do not recommend any stocks for investment"

Mr. Nimesh Jamdar, Surat. NJ Client

Mr. Nimesh Jamadar is a client of NJ – a commerce graduate, started his own business in the area of Textile & Construction and he is doing great for last 20 years. He is active investor and carries good understanding for different financial instruments. He is a client for last 8 years and got conviction for MF Product . He is investing in MF for last 8 years but for last few months he is witnessing a great difference while transacting for investments in MF. And the difference that he is experiencing today is because of the benefits that NJ E-Wealth Account offers.

Remembering the days before existence of NJ E-Wealth Account, Nimesh is sharing his views on the difference that he is experiencing using NJ E-Wealth Account. We are glad to represent Mr. Nimesh Jamadar's views on  NJ e-Wealth Account through this interview.

Which are the major differences you found between traditional investments & NJ E-Wealth Account?
The major difference is that earlier we have to make signature in each and every transaction & now its very simple, done on single click only. The only hassle is while opening the NJ E-Wealth Account, but once it’s get active, we get to do all the investment transactions at one window like buying, selling & switching at single click from any part of the world and that also error less.

How often you use NJ E-Wealth Account ?
I oftenly use NJ E-Wealth Account to make all my purchase and redemption, especially for short term parking my funds in liquid funds. And also used to re-balance my MARS transactions as an when advised by my advisor through NJ E-Wealth Account by single click.

Do you transact only in mutual fund through NJ E-Wealth Account ?
Yes, Major I use NJ E-Wealth Account for MF transactions as well as it also gives me facility to do transaction in Capital Market for buying Equity shares, Bonds from secondary market, ETF's and can also apply for Equity IPOs.

What is a difference between NJ E-Wealth Account and other similar platforms available in market ?
The biggest problem in similar platform is persistency of their employees, My recent experience is with one of the India's biggest bank is that there was change in RM for two times in a single year who manages my bank transactions, its very difficult for me to adjust with every new person they appoint for me, which I never faced such problem with NJ E-Wealth since last 8 years. Also NJ E-Wealth Account gives flexibility to my advisor to manage my portfolio and keep better performing scheme in the portfolio and remove under performing schemes as an when required, whether its of same AMC or different AMC, because inter AMC switch is possible on NJ E-Wealth Account.

Is it Safe holding your wealth in demat mode ?
Yes its safe. Because am being informed before and after each transaction done in my demat a/c through SMS and email also on registered mail id only. Its extremely safe because my bank mandate is also registered with my demat a/c, so no one can do misuse of my funds or get credit of redeemed fund quickly in bank a/c. It may be transmission of my assets to my nominee will be very easy in my absence.

Would you recommend NJ E-Wealth Account to your friends ?
Yes already have given reference for NJ E-Wealth Account.

But when you do the investment online / with NJ E-Wealth Account, how do you decide the schemes which you want to invest ?
That’s very easy, because my Short Term funds invest into Liquid funds and my long-term investments, I invest through MARS only.