Corporate captains meet FM, seek higher infra spend

Corporate captains, who met finance minister Pranab Mukherjee for pre-budget consultations on Monday, called for enhanced public spending in infrastructure and sought income tax break for individuals to spur demand.

India Inc, caught between an uncertain domestic market and sticky interest rates, has asked the government to come with a series of measures in the budget for an early revival of the economy.

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Corporate captains, who met finance minister Pranab Mukherjee for pre-budget consultations on Monday, called for enhanced public spending in infrastructure and sought income tax break for individuals to spur demand.

“The budget should be an 'Investment Budget' with action required on fiscal prudence, capacity creation, promoting investments and fuelling consumption,” CII president Venu Srinivasan said.

President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Harshpati Singhania laid down a multi-pronged strategy to push investment-led growth and stimulate demand through fiscal measures. “A broad-based strategy would pave the way for bringing back the growth trajectory to 9 per cent,” Singhania said.

Assocham senior vice president Swati Priamal said there is an urgent need to stimulate demand by reducing personal tax rates.