Construction World and First Construction Council conducted a webinar on February 2 with industry leaders and analysts on their analyses of the Union Budget 2021-22. The 90-minute session was moderated by Construction World’s Editor-in-Chief Pratap Padode.

The panelists were:

Deepto Roy, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
Dip Kishore Sen, Director, L&T
Hemal Mehta, Partner, Deloitte India
Pradeep Singh, former Vice Chairman & MD, IDFC Projects
Sandeep Singh, MD, Tata Hitachi
Sumit Banerjee, former MD & CEO, ACC

The discussion saw interesting takes and insights on real estate, cement, steel and construction equipment industries with respect to the Union Budget 2021-22. The speakers decoded what the budget will allow in terms of funding and implementation of promised projects.

A live, online, in-house poll conducted during the webinar delved into some important questions regarding the budget.

Here is a graphical snapshot of the webinar poll results:

The first question asked the attendees what they were most worried about in the current times. Interestingly, 68% of respondents were worried about job creation in the wake of the recent pandemic. While 38% votes went to public spending and investment, and finance and loans. Followed by 30% for GDP growth and 32% for demand.

How satisfactory did the attendees find the budget? Results showed that 42% of the respondents were satisfied with the budget 2021-22. While 28% said they were somewhat satisfied and 22% believed that the budget could have been better. Whereas 8% of respondents were not satisfied with the budget.

Which sector, in their opinion, received the greatest attention after healthcare? Results indicated that 75% of the respondents thought it was infrastructure. While 12% voted for agriculture, followed by 8% for MSMEs and 5% for manufacturing.

Also Read: Budget 2021-22 for infra and construction: A snapshot
Also Read: Govt reveals core sector growth rates
Also Read: An Infra-Nirbhar Budget
Also Read: Infrastructure to boost employment