E-Paper
India Inc welcomes budget
Indian industry has welcomed the Union Budget 2004-05 saying it was a good Budget given the compulsions before Govt.
Industry on Thursday welcomed the Union Budget for 2004-05 saying it was a good Budget given the compulsions before the Government.
"This is another dream budget by Finance Minister P Chidambaram. This is a dream budget for the food, agriculture and rural development sectors. The earlier Chidambaram budget (1997-98) was a dream budget for the corporate sector," chief mentor of the Confederation of Indian Industry Tarun Das said.
The benefits from these sectors would trickle down to the manufacturing industry, he said hoping the success would depend on its implementation.
Noted industrialist and chairman SRF Arun Bharatram felt that under given compulsions, Chidambaram presented a good budget.
Bharti Group chairman, Sunil Mittal said hiking of service tax from eight per cent to 10 per cent would not affect the industry much and that such steps were essential to mop up resources for funding education and mid-day meal scheme.
MUL managing director and president of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers Jagdish Khattar welcomed the higher allocations made for the defence sector saying auto industry would be a benefited by it.
Welcoming the hike in FDI cap for insurance sector, AMP Samnar vice-chairman SV Mony said it would encourage more players who were waiting to enter the market, adding it would lead to pumping in of more resources.
Noting that the Budget would increase the purchasing power of the common man, CII president Sunil Kant Munjal said it was on the expected lines and the fact that the Government had focussed on R&D in various sectors was a great thing.
He said it was "great" that the Budget focussed on rural economy, agriculture and was a pro-common man's Budget.
