So, this was expected, but it got delayed and it is happening now. So, I feel it is not a big surprise to 90% of the market participants and they have been all expecting that.

And coming to the budget, I do not think budget is going to make any sea change to the situation. Budget, I do not think people are having much expectation. Actually, there is a little discontent among a lot of people, the common man, whether the left wing or the right wing, everybody feels something we are missing. Maybe this budget will open up something like that.

Now, the Economic Survey yesterday was talking about get out of the way, trust people. It is a very meaningful thing. This is what is lacking today and for this there are so many issues now, very eminent people, very credible voices like Mohandas Pai or Sandeep Parekh, the Manish Sabharwal and Surjit Balla, all these kind of people are talking the same thing. That means there is something really we need to do.

I hope this budget will initiate something like that. We are talking about the regulatory flab. Some people call it, what do you call, the regulatory cholesterol.

So, I am hearing these kind of words in the recent past. It is very important. That means it is really there. So, I hope the budget will initiate something to revive. As Nikunj was talking, this budget theme should be revived and it is time to revive. Let us hope it will happen.

And these are three stocks which have come out from Porinju Sim Sim and the three stocks are first, Ixigo, Protean, and Indegene. You are going to tell me about these businesses. Why do you like Ixigo?
Porinju Veliyath: It is basically more than the stock, there could be other stocks in the vertical. I was looking at domestic travel which is going to see a huge uptrend and the middle class and lower middle class, this company has been focusing that segment with train and bus kind of systems and even the flights.

Now, they are talking about entering hotel booking and many other new verticals. I feel it is at a very high valuation of course if you go by the price adding multiples. But this kind of businesses we cannot get it at 15-20 PE in any case.

What is the price target for Ixigo?
Porinju Veliyath: I do not have a target. I feel this can be a great compounder for the next 5-10 years considering the industry background.

But is it a good level to buy Ixigo right now?
Porinju Veliyath: I feel it has given a good correction also last week. I am not holding this stock. We have not bought in the fund or in proprietary. So, I just want to say that.

The next stock Porinju has is Protean. Now, Protean is, of course, digital infrastructure. All the NPS and all the backend work which happens here. You spoke about this last budget also?
Porinju Veliyath: Yes.

Where has the stock gone from last budget?
Porinju Veliyath: Actually, that time it was some 1200 or around that level. It went to 2200. Now, it has given a sharp correction. I feel it is again maybe a level to look at. So, these are not for trading of course. If somebody believe in that digital public infrastructure growth in India and India has been adopting to that level digitisation better than any other country in the world and we need to go far in this, so this is into the taxation, what you call, and the social security and it is also into the pension kind of segments and they are like monopoly in the Atal Pension Yojana.

And I think you own 1% of the equity, right?
Porinju Veliyath: We have some 2-3% already.

2-3% of the equity of the company?
Porinju Veliyath: Yes, in our portfolio management.

Large investment. PMS has become big. I can see that.
Porinju Veliyath: We are a very small fund.

Third one and I mean I track Protean closely so I know about the numbers here. But I do not track Indegene. I do not track it. So, you will have to introduce the company for us. What the company does and why do you like it?
Porinju Veliyath: See, this is, you can call it a pharma technology or medtech company, Indegene. They have partnered with the global pharmaceutical companies and the life care companies. They are helping companies for their operational efficiency in R&D, for the digital transformation, and cost-effective operations basically. It has been a very successful, already well-earning company. I think it is around 13,000-14,000 crores market capitalisation.

You own the stock?
Porinju Veliyath: We own the stock in our fund.

And what is your price target?
Porinju Veliyath: Again, I do not know. So Indegene is, this can be a great compounder, 20-25% compounder for next many years, I feel, and it is a solid company. It is a large-sized company. It is not a small company with global operations and they are expanding. I think this is a stock idea to watch in pharma technology.

So, Khul Sim Sim ideas are Ixigo, Protean, and Indegene. And I am going to say the disclosure on behalf of Porinju again. He is actively managing money. If the stock prices they go higher, he will make a lot of money. He has a vested interest. These are not recommendations. Please do your homework. These are not trading ideas. These are compounding ideas where you should have a time horizon of three to five years. See no trouble now. Are markets really expecting nothing from this year’s budget?
Porinju Veliyath: Yes, expectations have been banked down of late. We need a change. There is no doubt about it. The economic survey has clearly indicated that. And people started talking about tax terrorism kind of thing. A lot of rumours and news around. It is not good. And I am very confident politicians will be well aware about the things happening and they will do something in this budget is my gut feeling as a trend.

In one budget you cannot do everything. Basically, give freedom. Trust people. Get out of the way. Less government. Maybe we need something like a DOGE, Department of Government Efficiency. You have to cut down on our regulations, number of regulations. I just want to talk about something. Now I also operate in AIF category three. It is a small fund. We operated in, started in 2017.

We immediately stopped it because of the some tax grey areas we found. And this is going to be a shocker to the Mumbai AIF people. We have around 1,20,000 crores under AIF category three alone. Now according to the CBDT circular, everyone has to pay 42% tax, which is now reduced to 39% tax at fund level. And this CBDT circular, the crux of the CBDT circular, you will be shocked, it is unconstitutional, irrational, and unbelievable, I would say.

Hopefully something should be addressed in this budget is what I understand.
Porinju Veliyath: Yes and bureaucrats are aware about these things at CBDT level, finance ministry level, but nobody is doing something. Imagine about something, 1,20,000 crores under management. You are long only fund, you are holding listed companies for five and ten years and you pay 42% tax is what they are telling.

I heard that is something which they really want to address, so let us hope it happens in this budget.
Porinju Veliyath: So, why should such grey areas be kept. Now, I do not know whether politicians, how much control they have over these things, how much they are aware, I am not sure. I think the bureaucrats should change, the culture should change, they have to make things smooth for the nation, otherwise it becomes anti-national act ho jata hai.

So, I will tell you, because of this thing, we stopped taking funds in 2017 itself and we went for an advance ruling, from authority of advance ruling in 2018. Imagine after six years, the ruling is coming from the board of advance ruling and they kept a hearing date.

Two weeks before the hearing, I am getting calls from Delhi, from unknown people. You come and meet us in Delhi, if you want a favourable ruling, can you imagine about this?

So, tax simplification, get off the complexity, that is one ask from the markets.
Porinju Veliyath: Remove the grey areas, that is the most important thing. This is not a new thing. This was there since the time of Chidambaram and sometimes people used to talk, the bureaucrats keep the grey areas so that the corrupt officers can take advantage of that. So, why the grey areas? Make it very clear. If it is a long time capital gain, clarify.