Budget
Budget 2014: Hope and growth on marketers’ mind
MUMBAI: “Ache din aane wale hai” will go down in the history of political campaigns in India as it helped Bharatiya Janta Party win by a landslide.
Narendra Modi with the campaign clearly earned brownie points not only from the common man but also the marketing fraternity. While the new power packed government is gearing up to present its first budget statement, the world of business across is highly confident about the outcome.
There is a list of worries that the government needs to pay attention to. Inflation continues to be high; it is currently over 6 per cent. With monsoon expected to be low this year it will also highly impact the subsidies on food, fuel and fertilizer.
This has been reflecting on marketing spends by different sectors of the economy.
Indiantelevision.com speaks to marketers from across sectors on their expectations from the budget.
‘Hope is new driver of positivity’
Future Group president (customer strategy) and CEO (Bengal warriors & T24) Sandip Tarkas hopes that the budget addresses inflation, job creation and through it attains customer confidence.
He believes that confidence will lead to consumption and thereby heightened economic activity in all spheres.
“This will lead to more jobs, more ad spends, more investments and will impact the M&E industry as well. Consumption builds economy; and increased consumption resulting from increased confidence will start a virtuous cycle of investments as against a vicious cycle of holding on to spends that we are currently caught in,” he says.
Philips India consumer lifestyle president ADA Ratnam is of a similar opinion. “I am expecting the government to come up with a strong and positive budget which will spur the growth. We need the good old GDP growth rate back and I’m confident we will be back on track soon,” he adds.
‘Be liberal on tax issues’
Godrej Appliances business head and executive vice president Kamal Nandi has a sincere request from the FM on the direct taxes front. He is expecting an increase in the income tax slab values in line with inflation. According to him, there should be an increase exemption limit for medical expenses (from Rs 15000 to Rs 25000) under 80C.
Along with this, he wishes for an increase tax exemption limit for conveyance allowance limit from Rs 800/month to Rs 1500/month with an increase limit for tax exemption under 80CC from current Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. “This will encourage purchase of hi-end and energy efficient appliances, exemption on interest, as applicable in the case of home loans, to be rolled out for consumer loans also,” he opines.
As it is understood that real estate is the second largest sector that contributes to the country’s GDP growth, Tata Housing marketing – head Rajeeb Dash also thinks from the consumer point of view, there should be reduction in home loans and the slab of tax benefits should widen.
“As a real estate brand what we are expecting from the budget is benefits for the end users. We know that the slowdown has hit the common people badly, with the budget announcement the economic momentum should come back in action. From a community point of view infra status is what is needed for the benefit of the developer,” mentions Dash.
‘Support the SMEs’
American Swan director and CEO Anurag Rajpal thinks that there is a need to boost the growth of home grown industries to be at par with their counterparts in China and other Asian countries. He is of the opinion that a strong focus on the e-governance initiatives should streamline the procurement process of technology and services with a strong focus on participation from SMEs.
He wants the policy reforms to be such that it is consistent and long-termed. Currently, he believes that homegrown industries are doing business on thin margins due to high rise in cost of raw materials and interest rates. This has been detrimental especially for small-scale industries to sustain their business.
“The country today has abundance of talent but it is limited to very few skill sets. There is a need for change in the education system to further improve the skill sets of the youth which addresses the needs of different verticals. Focus on skills development will be helpful in the long-term in creation of job opportunities,” he concludes.
MUMBAI: Anuj Singhal, managing editor at CNBC- AWAAZ and CNBC BAJAR, operates at the sharp end of India’s business news ecosystem. With over two decades in business journalism, he has earned credibility for decoding policy, markets and macro trends for millions of Hindi-speaking investors. Equal parts newsroom leader and market analyst, he shapes editorial direction while anchoring flagship shows that break down the economy, politics and corporate India in real time.
Known for cutting through jargon and hype, Singhal blends data, discipline and clarity — a mix that has made him one of the most trusted voices in Hindi business news.
In this interaction, he discusses the Union Budget, trade deals, newsroom strategy and what truly moves markets and ratings.
• What was the single most market-moving announcement in this Budget, and why?
The most market-moving element was the clear commitment to fiscal consolidation without compromising capex. The glide path on fiscal deficit reassured bond markets and foreign investors, while sustained public investment kept growth expectations intact. That balance removed a big overhang for both equities and debt.
• Do you see this Budget as growth-oriented, fiscally cautious, or politically calibrated?
This Budget is growth-led but fiscally disciplined. It avoids overt populism, stays within macro guardrails, and prioritises medium-term competitiveness over short-term optics. Politically, it is restrained; economically, it is deliberate. The message is clear: stability over spectacle.
• How is CNBC-AWAAZ programming different, especially in decoding trade deal impact?
CNBC-AWAAZ goes beyond headline reaction. We translate policy into portfolio impact — sector by sector, stock by stock.
On trade agreements, our focus is on:
-Earnings visibility
-Export competitiveness
-Currency implications
-Margin sustainability
We don’t treat trade deals as political milestones. We decode them as profit-and-loss events for corporate India and map them to FY earnings trajectories.
• Which sectors look like clear winners and laggards over the next 12–18 months?
The next 12–18 months favour sectors aligned with structural spending and supply-side strengthening.
– Clear beneficiaries:
Capital goods and infrastructure
Manufacturing linked to export chains and PLI ecosystems
Power, defence, and logistics
– Relative laggards:
Consumption segments dependent on immediate demand revival
Businesses facing margin pressure from global volatility or pricing power erosion
This is not a momentum-driven market environment. It is execution-driven. Balance-sheet strength and order visibility will matter more than narrative.
• One headline to sum up this Budget 2026 for India Inc?
“Steady Hands, Long-Term Vision: A Budget That Rewards Discipline Over Drama”.
• What editorial filters do you apply before calling something ‘market-positive’ or ‘negative’?
We apply three structured filters:
– First: Earnings translation — does this materially change earnings visibility or cash flow outlook?
– Second: Time horizon — is the impact immediate, cyclical, or structural?
– Third: Valuation context — good news priced in or not.
If a policy doesn’t move earnings or risk perception, we don’t oversell it.
• How has business news consumption changed around big policy events?**
There has been a clear behavioural shift. They’re less interested in what was said, more in what it means for their money. There’s also a clear shift toward second-screen consumption, with digital platforms complementing live TV. The audience seeks sharper accountability. Viewers no longer accept broad optimism or pessimism — they want frameworks, numbers, and sector mapping.
• CNBC-AWAAZ decisively outperformed on Budget Day. What editorial and distribution choices mattered most?
Three deliberate strategic choices:
– Preparation depth:
We build scenarios months in advance — deficit ranges, sectoral incentives, tax calibrations — so we’re ready with analysis the moment numbers are announced.
– Language of impact:
We translate macro policy into investor-friendly Hindi without diluting complexity. That bridges accessibility and sophistication.
– Integrated distribution:
Television, YouTube, and digital platforms operate as one editorial grid, not parallel silos. This ensures continuity of narrative.We stayed analytical while others stayed reactive.
• How different is your YouTube audience from your TV audience?
The behavioural differences are subtle but important. TV audiences prioritise authority, structured debate, and context. YouTube audiences want speed, clarity, and actionable insights — often sharper, sometimes more opinionated. However, both share one expectation: accuracy. The format evolves; the trust benchmark does not.
• How do you retain viewers after the budget speech ends?
By shifting from announcements to implications.Retention comes from shifting the narrative from announcement to implication. We break down sectoral breakouts, stock-level impact, and what to do next. The speech is just the trigger; analysis is the destination.
• Is Budget Day your biggest traffic day?
It is one of the biggest — but more importantly, it is among the deepest in engagement. Viewers spend longer durations, revisit segments, and seek follow-up programming. That indicates behavioural trust, not just traffic.
• What’s the first thing you personally track on Budget Day — the speech or the markets?
The markets. They’re the fastest truth-teller. The speech explains intent; markets reveal interpretation.
• Your personal Budget-day ritual?
Early morning prep, minimal distractions, and once the speech begins, complete immersion. For me, Budget Day is less about reaction and more about reading between the lines.
• What drove your Budget-day ratings dominance, and how are Budget and trade deals shaping markets now?
Our dominance came from credibility, consistency, and clarity.
As for markets, both the Budget and recent trade deals are reinforcing a narrative of policy stability and global integration, which supports valuations even amid global volatility.
For Singhal, the market is the final judge. Policies can promise and speeches can persuade, but prices reveal what investors truly believe. As India’s investor class grows more informed and more demanding, business journalism is shifting from commentary to calibration. The premium is on clarity, context and credibility. In a landscape flooded with noise, the real edge lies in interpretation. In the end, the markets listen to numbers, not narratives , and Singhal’s craft is helping viewers tell the difference.
