Colors of March

The month of March began with Holi and promises to be full of vibrant colors throughout the month in India.

For starters, the North East India is splattered with Saffron politically. For women across the world, the International Day of Women on March 08 will be symbolised with Pink with society trying hard to enhance awareness towards breast cancer. For businesses, the end of financial year will have black or red as each business will be striving to meet targets and increase profits and minimise losses. The bankruptcy code, the recent scams, the mood in stock markets, LTCG, impact of other policy changes announced in Union Budget, etc. must be playing on minds of business leaders.

Since the new financial year begins next month, it is also the month of planning. Planning for the foreseen as well as planning for the unforeseen. Plan A and Plan B need to be well-charted.

The foreseen are many. India will continue on its high growth trajectory. Government’s thrust on growth rural India is expected to prove beneficial to many sectors. Recent investments and other initiatives in Core sectors would have their impact on GDP as well as quality of life. This is expected to be a year of SMEs. Market players say that the current dull sentiment in Indian Stock Market would give way to bullish sentiment as the next financial year steps into its second quarter. The rush in IPOs would be even more. Most experts opine atleast 100% increase in number of SME IPOs. And More.

The unforeseen seem even more. As India enters into the 5th year of Lok Sabha next month, the politics of the country is likely to drive the economic sentiments. I reckon that the political environment is likely to be more vicious than ever before. I sense that elections of Karnataka Assembly will be an important trigger. The 5th year has also seen fair amount of scams in recent times. The performance of recent IPOs, the perceptions about investment in SME IPOs. Ofcourse, the global oil prices, the Interest Rates in United States, international geo-political risks will continue to fuel the uncertainty. And many more. Each day is likely to bring in its share of unforeseen developments.

The vibrant colors of March will lend themselves to an exciting all new financial year. Plan A as well as Plan B need to be strong and well thought out.