Union Budget directionless, anti-industry, says business community

Manav Mander

Ludhiana, July 23

Budget announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today has failed to evoke positive response from the industry. Except for a few announcements, the Budget has not gone down well with the industry and the business community has termed it as ‘directionless’ and ‘anti-industry’.

Key agri issues remained unaddresed

Though many announcements to focus on agri research for productivity such as government move to promote farmer producer organisations, setting up of 10,000 bio research centres for farmers, 32 new high-yielding varieties, increase in productivity and income of farmers, strengthening of oilseed and pulses’ cultivation to achieve Atamnirbharta and cut imports, etc, were made, many key issues remained unaddressed.

India is slowly moving on the path of Sri Lanka with a huge fiscal deficit, said industry leaders.

The biggest disappointment for the Ludhiana industry came after no review of 45-day payment rule for micro small and medium enterprises was done while the custom duty on spandex yarn, which was reduced from 7.5 per cent to 5 per cent, has been welcomed by the local industry.

“The disparity among states in a federal nation is unacceptable and the government has done the same by providing grant to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Not a single word was spoken on Section 43B, which Sitharaman promised during her election campaign in Ludhiana, said Badish Jindal, national president of the All Industries and Trade Forum.

“It’s evident from the Budget that the government is concerned about corporates and has given major relief to them. The government has no soft corner for MSMEs or the common man. To sum up, we can say the Budget has nothing for the MSMEs or common man and it has disappointed us,” said Narinder Bhamra, president of the Fasteners Manufacturer Association of India.

Tax slabs have been revised to give some relief under the new tax regime. The Finance Minister admitted that direct tax collection was more than doubled, GST collections gone up but in spite of that no relief given to MSMEs, he said.

“The Ludhiana industry could have got a big boost had the FM adhered to our request by including bicycle, sewing machines, tractors, hand tools, etc, in the ambit of Production Linked Incentive scheme. “Overall, the budget has neither provided any major tax benefit nor given any help to the MSME sector, which is still reeling under stress post-Covid,” said Pankaj Sharma, president of the Association of Trade and industrial Undertakings.

Gurmeet Singh Kular, president of the Federation of Industrial and Commercial Organisation (FICO), said there was not much for the MSME sector in the Budget. Especially, relief from the 43-B(H) was sought, but nothing on that front has been done.

Harpal Singh Bhamber from the cycle industry said no special package for the bicycle industry had been introduced, though India is the 2nd largest bicycle manufacturer in the world, after China.

“The bicycle sector needs special attention from the government to flourish, so that it can upgrade itself to compete with the world and to become largest manufacturer of bicycles in the world,” he added.

“There has been no major announcement for the state. PM Awas Yojana Urban 2.0 will be good with an investment of Rs 10 lakh crore as needs of one crore urban poor and middle class families will be addressed. Hope Punjab will get a few industrial parks as these will be developed in 100 cities,” adds architect Sanjay Goel, Technical Expert of Ludhiana Smart City Limited.

Effective implementation of the Budget will be crucial to benefit all stakeholders, including small businesses and the common man. However, it is disappointing that Punjab’s farmers, traders and the industry have not received significant attention. Unlike Bihar, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, Punjab remains deprived of any major projects in the Budget, opines Sonu Nilibar from the Punjab Textile merchants Association. Meanwhile, abolishing angel tax has been seen as a welcome step. “Abolishing angel tax will have a long-term impact on start-up founders. It will not only motivate angel investors but also help to encourage entrepreneurial spirit in the Indian business domain,” said Gunjan Aggarwal, entrepreneur.

Disappointment for health sector

Reacting to the budget allocated to the health sector today, Dr Arun Mitra, president, Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD), has said the allocation to health was far away from meeting people’s health needs. The allocation for health is only Rs 89,287 crore out of a total budget of Rs 48.21 lakh crore. “It means health has been allocated only 1.8% of the total budget. If we calculate the total amount of budget for population of 140 crore, it comes to be only Rs 638 per person,” Mitra said.

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