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Last full budget ahead of 2024 general polls: Will Budget 2023 be populous or pragmatic? Experts explain

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2 months ago

January 28, 2023

With the government expected to present its last full 2023 budget on Wednesday February 1, ahead of next year’s general election, experts believe it will be a broadly prudent/progressive budget, coupled with some benefits and arrangements for various areas of society.

Next week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman plans to present the Union budget for the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) to Parliament. Amid general elections in 2024, next year’s budget will be presented twice – the first interim budget before the elections and the second full budget after the elections.

“Budget 2023 will be largely pragmatic and the government will embark on a long journey of fiscal discipline,” said Bank of Baroda chief economist Madan Sabnavis, adding that it will, however, seek to give different types of benefits to different areas in each space grant is available.

Also see: Union Budget 2023: Government will not introduce fees for UPI transactions: CCAvenue’s CBO Pankaj Dedhia

According to Sabnavis, the government will aim to reduce the budget deficit ratio, which has been promised to be reduced by 2025-2026. Earlier, Goldman Sachs, a global brokerage firm, also estimated in its expectations that the central government could lower the fiscal target to below 6 percent in the 2023 budget.

Although the government’s approach will be cautious, the focus may not be much on additional taxation, Sabnavis said. He added that the government could bring some benefits to the corporate sector by announcing higher capital spending in FY24.

Also see: Union Budget 2023: An Explanation of Capital Expenditure and Revenue Expenditure

In the 2022 budget, the government announced an increase in investment spending of around 35 percent for the current financial year.

While Anjan Roy, a former economist at ASSOCHAM – a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group – said the government is likely to remain professional and present a pragmatic budget in the coming week, hints of populism are also possible.

The focus is likely to be more on farmers, providing a boost to overall rising demand in terms of production, investment and other factors, Roy said in his commentary.

Nilesh Shah, managing director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company, said the 2023 budget is likely to be growth-oriented by increasing spending on infrastructure, healthcare and education.

“The budget needs to reassure the investor that while tax rates remain stable, they are on the path to fiscal prudence. This is possible if Budget 2023 increases non-tax resources through asset monetization and closes tax loopholes,” Shah said in his forthcoming budget expectations.

Sandhya Sakhuja, Director of Vedic Cosmeceuticals, said the wellness industry in India is growing at an accelerated pace due to rising disposable incomes and a growing awareness of wellness. “The industry is recognized as one of the fastest growing industries valued at Rs 901.07 crore in 2018 and is projected to reach Rs 2,463.49 crore by 2024 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of ~18.40 per cent in 2018 Year 2019 corresponds to period 2024. The sector needs support from the government to enable easier business entry, expand capacities and achieve global reach. The government also needs to allocate more funds to research and development (R&D), innovation in production and production of raw materials should be simple GST standards to support the development and continuous growth of this industry.”

Ahead of the 2024 general election and this year’s 10-state assembly elections, experts say the budget could be a progressive mix of growth and populism.

Also read: Budget 2023: Long-term capital gains tax likely to be streamlined

I hope the government will cut personal income taxes for the middle class to stimulate demand and expect it to introduce better corporate income tax and GST rebates, which will further fuel the growth and development of the industry, said Abhijeet Sehgal, co-founder and CEO of 1Pay, in his comment.

IndiaFirst Life Insurance Chief Investment Officer Poonam Tandon expects the government to implement some social measures and spending for the 2024 general election. “However, we do not expect the 2023 budget to become populist,” the expert added.

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Rocket Lab targets Neutron launch price to challenge SpaceX

Published

1 hour ago

March 25, 2023

Melissa Bagwell

rocket lab is building a larger, reusable launch vehicle called the Neutron and is targeting a price near $50 million per launch to challenge it Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“We are positioning Neutron to compete head-to-head with the Falcon 9,” Rocket Lab’s chief financial officer Adam Spice said earlier this week while speaking at a Bank of America event in London on Tuesday.

The company announced Neutron when it went public in 2021, with Spice saying the rocket remains on track to debut in 2024 its fourth quarterly report last month, Rocket Lab said it has begun production of Neutron’s first armor structures, as well as construction of the launch pad for the rocket. The company plans to conduct the first “hot-fire test” of an Archimedes engine that will power Neutron “by the end of the year,” Spice said.

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SpaceX is touting a $67 million Falcon 9 launch, and Spice says Rocket Lab is aiming to match that on a cost-per-kilogram basis for satellite customers. That means Neutron is “targeting a launch service cost of $50 million to $55 million,” Spice said.

Spice also noted that Rocket Lab expects to fly the reusable Neutron boosters “10 to 20 times” each, within range of the current reusable performance of a Falcon 9 booster.

“We ultimately expect margins on Neutron launches to be in the range of about 50%,” added Spice. He estimated the commodity cost of each neutron at $20–$25 million, with “nearly half of that” coming from the rocket’s upper, non-reusable second stage.

Additionally, with SpaceX pushing hard to develop its massive Starship rocket, Spice alluded to the potential for the company to veer away from flying Falcon 9 missions.

“We don’t have any hard data on that, but if that were to happen, that would certainly be an incredibly optimistic thing for Neutron,” Spice said.

In the meantime, Spice said Rocket Lab aims to maintain its position as the “dominant player” in the small satellite launch market sub-sector with its Electron vehicles. The company expects to launch three Electron missions in the second quarter, two of which have already been completed, and is “on track” to launch 15 missions this year, Spice said.

More than rockets

Spice also stressed to the Bank of America audience that Rocket Lab is “much more than” just a rocket company. In fact, the company’s acquisitions and expansion into building satellite components and spacecraft have become the majority of its quarterly revenue.

“All of this leads to the biggest opportunity in space that’s really on the application side,” Spice said.

As CEO Peter Beck has previously notedRocket Lab’s goal is to create an “end-to-end platform for customers” who need space-based services. Spice said the company wants to operate satellites and “deliver data to our customers and develop a recurring revenue stream from it,” essentially eliminating the need for other companies to build and operate their own satellites.

“A lot of the companies that we are [launching to orbit on Electron] are very unnatural space facility owners,” Spice said, adding that “the best space facility owner is someone who can launch.”

Rocket Lab CEO on the importance of the US Space Force mission to the company

Business

Rivian Automotive wants more engineers working at its manufacturing plant

Published

1 hour ago

March 25, 2023

Melissa Bagwell

Electric vehicle company Rivian plans to go public — News from Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) is reportedly planning to move more of its manufacturing engineering team to its Normal, Illinois manufacturing facility to accelerate production of electric trucks and SUVs

Sources indicate a will to reorganize May be announced Soon, a “significant portion” of the engineering team working on manufacturing issues will relocate to either the Illinois site or Rivian’s headquarters in Irvine, California. That would be a departure from the pandemic years, when engineers could work from different parts of the US. Rivian is just one of many companies trying to improve efficiency by having employees work remotely and geographically.

Rivian Automotive (RIVN) currently has around 14,000 employees.

Shares of Rivian (RIVN) closed 0.66% on Friday but still managed a gain of more than 7% for the week.

Observation of the automotive industry: Buy or sell? Auto stocks face supply, demand and inflation stalls

Business

Tesla Stock: Cathie Wood Sells $27 Million Of TSLA To Buy The Dip On Coinbase, Block

Published

1 hour ago

March 25, 2023

Melissa Bagwell

Fund manager Cathie Wood and her firm ARK Invest Management sold millions of Tesla shares on Thursday, inviting shares of Tesla coin base (COIN) as the crypto exchange stock fell after receiving a Securities and Exchange Commission warning.

Tesla Stock Sale

Wood unloaded a total of 139,642 Tesla (TSLA) shares on Thursday were valued at $26.84 million based on the closing price of 192.22, according to an investor update on Thursday night. The company sold 119,630 shares of its ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) and 20,012 shares from the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW).

Coinbase stock crashes as SEC turns aggressive

The sale ended a Tesla buying streak for Wood. Added ARC Tesla shares valued at $12.6 million on March 8th after buying 1.3 million shares in December and January, according to Barron’s data. Tesla shares closed Thursday 5.5% higher than their March 8 close and 1% below their Dec. 1 close. Tesla stock is up 76% so far this year.

TSLA shares tumbled 0.9% on Friday.

Buy the Coinbase Dip

Meanwhile, ARK Invest added 268,928 shares of Coinbase worth $17.83 million based on Thursday’s close of 66.30. ARK added 230,599 shares to ARKK and 38,329 shares to ARKW, respectively.

COIN shares fell 14% on Thursday after the company announced it received a Wells Notice from the SEC late Wednesday, warning that the regulator intends to recommend enforcement action for potential securities violations. Coinbase and its executives remain firm in their belief that their products are compliant.

On March 21, Wood sold 160,887 shares of Coinbase from the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) to mark ARK’s first COIN stock sale of the year.

COIN stock rose 2.3% on Friday. Coinbase shares have rocketed 101% year-to-date. Still, shaken by crypto panics, Coinbase stock remains well below its all-time high of 368.90 set on Nov. 9, 2021.

Wood and ARK also bought 320,557 shares of the payment processor block (Q), valued at $19.84 million based on Thursday’s close of 61.88. SQ stock slipped 2% on Friday.

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