Team Herald
PANJIM: As soon as the two-hour-long budget speech of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the year 2019-20 was over, the industry captains who were watching the live show on television quipped that, “we whole heartedly welcome this budget.”
Addressing the media, the newly elected President of the Goa Chambers of Commerce and Industries (GCCI), Manoj Caculo said, “The trade and the industry welcomes this budget whole heartedly. The amount of money which is earmarked for infrastructure development, which is 100 lakh crore for the next five years, shows the way the government is going ahead and this will create jobs in the country. This is a very positive sign.”
Similarly, the initiative to establish a Public Private Partnerships (PPP) model in railways as the amount of work which needs to be done in the railways, government could not have done it alone. “As an industry we welcome it, as now the private partnerships are also being encouraged by the government,” added Caculo.
It aspires that India will grow to a $ 3 trillion economy the current year itself. It proposes a road map of structural reforms to take India to $ 5 trillion economy as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by 2024-25. India needs to grow at 8 per cent per year to be $5 trillion economy by FY25. Accordingly, thrust has been laid for heavy investment in infrastructure, in digital economy and on job creation in small and medium firms. The budget spread its vision covering Grameen Bharat to Shahree Bharat with focus on education, youth, women, health, labour laws, Yoga, water management, space programme, start ups with a dedicated TV channel and much more. Start ups and MSME were given the much needed emphasis and lot of supportive atmosphere is expected soon in both these areas. These areas are the backbone of India’s growth and their contribution to India is truly invaluable.
“On the direct taxes front, corporate sector received some relief in direct taxes while high net-worth individuals having taxable income above two crores will be affected due to increase in surcharge. Relief has been granted for start ups, affordable housing, electric vehicles, securities transaction tax and inter-changeability in PAN and Aadhar. There is a proposal for prefilled income tax returns and faceless assessments. In indirect taxes, the importance of GST as a monumental reform was emphasised. To reduce litigation of pre GST era, a Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme is being proposed. Going forward in GST new return filing system is being proposed to monitor the input tax credit mechanism chain under GST. In all GCCI welcomes the budget and shall continue to act as a catalyst between the trade, commerce, industry and the Government to resolve the upcoming and pending issues to promote trade and industry,” added Caculo.
Parimal Kulkarni, Chairman of the Taxation Committee of GCCI, President of Chartered Accountant Association, Ulhas Dhumaskar, Vice President of CII Blaise Costabir and Vice President of GCCI, Pratima Dhond also commended the Union budget.
Speaking on Goa’s perspective, the GCCI President said, “The customs duty on cashew kernels is increased, which will help Goan cashew growers, as it will not help much of cashew kernels to be imported into our country. There is also a mention of fisheries management and Goa is engaged in fisheries but once we have clarity on that we will be able to comment on it.
Manguirish Pai Raiker, Chairman of National Council of MSME and ASSOCHAM and former President of GCCI, in his statement, said he believes India is aiming to become a $5 trillion economy. “We have reached the position of 6th largest economy in the world from our position of 11 within a period of 5 years. To continue this pace and to reach the goal the Finance Minister has taken steps to build up the infrastructure and to attract foreign direct investments. This would enable both increase in revenue and employment. This budget is more rural oriented and aims at strengthening the rural infrastructure by building road network, housing, providing electricity, water and toilets to each house besides providing financial assistance to SHG,” said Raiker.
He went on to add that supporting 100 agro incubators would go a long way in promoting this sector as well as retaining the workforce in the villages. “The first Union Budget by the Modi 2.0 government has introduced several benefits for the MSME sector. Subvention of the interest scheme for the MSMEs will help them to upgrade and add on to their existing production capacity. This sector has been battling to get loans, the current gap between the demand and credit supply within the Indian MSME sector is very large. The introduction of the 1 crore MSME loan brings great relief to small business owners, making easier accessibility and processing of loans through a single portal. This, in turn, will translate into the stability and growth of the sector, with the survival and sustenance of existing business besides new start up units. Supporting Make in India by introducing various measures will definitely encourage new investments in the sector,” added the Chairman of the National Council of MSME.
