Industry & Economy
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Budget
Kerala trade, industry welcome Budget
Our Bureau
Kochi, Feb. 29 The trade and industry in Kerala have generally welcomed the Union Budget saying that the Government has initiated steps to correct poor growth in the agricultural sector by placing greater emphasis on its growth and development through various schemes and outlays.
As far as Kerala is concerned, various agricultural produce such as tea, coffee and cardamom has find special mention in the budget, said Mr Jose Dominic, President of the Chamber.
He said that the Chamber was surprised to see that infrastructure development and improvement was given emphasis. While there were a few announcements on this account, the Chamber would have thought that the budget would have addressed the issue on a priority basis, he said.
CST reduction
The chamber also welcomed the decision to reduce CST to two per cent, reduction of excise duties and import duties on various commodities and to hike income-tax exemption slabs for assessess across the board. However, the chamber is disappointed that the corporate income tax rate and surcharge rate have not been rationalised as also the peak of customs duties.
Mr R. Mohandas, President, Indian Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that though the Budget contains some welcome features, it cannot be termed as a growth-oriented one. The phenomenal increase in agricultural credit has not truly reflected on the performance of the sector. The package of relief now announced will not alone help this vital segment of the economy and there should be proper and effective monitoring from the point of allocation to that of utilisation of funds along with provision of adequate infrastructure and marketing facilities, he said.
Mr A.P.M. Abdul Rahim, State President of the Kerala State Small Industries Association, pointed out that the reduction in credit guarantee fund scheme by one per cent and to allocate Rs 2,000 crore for SIDBI for improving the credit facility would strengthen the industrial sector. Likewise, allocation of Rs 800 crore for National Fund to improve the power transmission system will also benefit the power sector, he said.
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