Industry & Economy
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Budget
Chambers welcome Budget
Our Bureau
Kochi
,
March 1
VARIOUS chambers of commerce and industry in the State have hailed the Union Budget, saying that it contains several welcome proposals.
The President of the Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr A.K. Nair, said that the Finance Minister has been very careful in not upsetting the economy and has more or less followed the directions set in by Dr Manmohan Singh in 1991.
The Finance Minister has taken special care to cater the needs of both primary and secondary sector and, thereby, the service sector.
The allocation of Rs 10,000 crore through special purpose vehicle on infrastructure will benefit the roads, ports, airports and tourism, he said.
While the Finance Minister has stated that subsidies in petroleum and fertiliser will continue, the need for conversion from expensive petroleum products to natural gas has been emphasised.
The State Government should take note of this and exert pressure on the Centre to commence work on the LNG project in Puthuvypeen, Mr Nair added.
The President of Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr C.P. Jain, said that the more allocation of funds for infrastructure development would definitely generate more employment and would have positive impact on the economy.
However, he said that the imposition of 0.1 per cent levy on the withdrawal of Rs 10,000 in a day from banks would not help to curb black money but would discourage the common man in dealing with the banks. Therefore, this inappropriate and impractical proposal should be withdrawn, he added.
The Confederation of Indian Industry-Kerala has welcomed the Union Budget saying that it is shaped to boost industry growth and competitiveness and the impressive growth rate of 6-7 per cent is very much likely to be achieved.
The special purpose vehicle using the forex reserves is aimed at further strengthening the cause of infrastructure and Kerala stands to gain with the likely impact on tourism, a statement issued by CII said.
The proposal to increase capital subsidy allocation for SME's from Rs 135 crore to Rs 173 crore with the enhancement of exemption limit from Rs 3 crore to Rs 4 crore, is also a good move.
The budget is also poised to increase employment in the agriculture sector with Rs 400 crore marked for micro irrigation, outlay of Rs 630 crore for horticulture mission and special micro finance schemes through Nabard.
The Association of Planters of Kerala (APK) while welcoming the Budget said that the move to abolish additional excise duty of Re 1 a kg on tea would be a relief for the industry, which has been going through severe financial crisis.
Mr V.P. Nambi, Chairman, APK, said that the Association also welcomed the proposal of the Finance Minister to reduce corporate tax from 35 per cent to 30 per cent.
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