The Union Budget proposals will re-energise the economy by uplifting the spirit of the middle class and encouraging the private sector to advance its investment plans as demand improves across sectors, FICCI president Harsha Vardhan Agarwal said on Saturday.
FICCI also welcomes initiatives such as the introduction of a revamped Central KYC registry, a new Income Tax Bill, the Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0, further regulatory reforms, and a reduction in the number of applicable customs tariff rates. These measures, aimed at promoting ease of doing business in the country, underscore the government’s continuous endeavours towards the adage ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’.
The MSME sector received special mention in the budget. The revision of classification criteria for MSMEs and the doubling of credit limits with guarantee cover will have a far-reaching effect on the growth of this vital sector, which forms the backbone of the economy. Besides, specific measures announced for labour-intensive sectors such as footwear, leather, food processing, and toys, which are dominated by MSMEs, will boost employment, especially in tier 2 and tier 3 towns and cities.
On the infrastructure front, the budget focuses on the maritime sector with the announcement of a new Maritime Development Fund. This will give a boost to the marine economy, especially in coastal states, creating growth opportunities in both trade and blue economy segments. FICCI has also noted with interest the plan to connect 120 new destinations under the UDAN scheme, which will create new economic opportunities and spur the growth of newly connected regions as emerging growth centres.
To supplement the efforts towards Make in India for the World, the budget also includes a series of measures targeting the promotion of exports. The most notable of these is the launch of a new digital public infrastructure – Bharat Trade Net – that will serve as a unified platform for trade documentation and financing solutions for merchants and merchandise exporters. The government is increasingly using India’s technical and digital capabilities in new spheres to enhance business ease. FICCI hopes that this new DPI will unify various touch points for exporters, enabling seamless exchange of information. This would improve efficiency in the export process and bring down the cost and time of doing business.
The Union budget includes several measures to improve the skilling ecosystem in the country so that the youth get trained on the new emerging technologies that are seeing a rise in demand in the industry. In this context, the budget’s decisions to increase capacity in the country’s premier technical institutions, such as the IITs, increase the number of medical education seats, establish 50,000 Atal Tinkering Labs, and set up a new Centre of Excellence for AI education are commendable. These steps will strengthen India’s credentials as a source of skilled manpower in the world that can cater to both domestic and international demands.