The industry captains and members of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) welcomed the Union Budget that was tabled by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament on Tuesday.
Describing it as an industry-friendly budget with a focus on long-term growth, they said that emphasis was laid on building infrastructure.
D. Tirupathi Raju, Chairman of the CII, Andhra Pradesh,said that it was difficult to table a ‘stable budget’ after the country endured the COVID-19 pandemic for about two years. “The U- turn in the economy has just started and the GST collection is improving, which are positive signs. The Budget focused on seven engines of the PMGati Shakti, the impetus that the industry has been looking forward to,” he said.
PM Gati Shakti
The CII members were optimistic that the PM Gati Shakti would scale up the infrastructure and logistics, which would benefit Andhra Pradeshand Visakhapatnam, as this will pave the way for construction of multi-modal logistic parks, railway network, roads and logistic chains. The boost in infrastructure will increase mobility, said Mr. Tirupathi Raju.
The fetching point for A.P. is the linking of the Krishna river with the Godavari, the Godavari with the Penna and the Penna with the Kaveri, which is an extension of the Sagarmala project. This would improve the inland waterways and the coastal lines will open up, benefiting the State and Visakhapatnam immensely in the long run, said Neeraj Sarda, Vice-Chairman of the CII, Andhra Pradesh.
Skill development
He also pointed out that increase in the budgetary allocation to the tune of about 18% to the education sector was a good move. “The Union Finance Minister has indicated that money will be spent on setting up of skill development universities and linking of universities with skill development centre. The proposal of setting up 200 digital channels to bridge the gap for the days lost in school education due to the pandemic is also a welcome move,” he said.
The CII members also said that the enhanced allocation to urban planning and mass transport and introduction of Vande Bharat trains will develop the cities. P.P. Lal Krishna, CEO and managing director of the Ramky Pharma City India Limited, pointed out that the proposal to set up more high-end medical equipment manufacture parks was also a welcome move.
The budget has something for startups and it has opened up many opportunities for MSMEs, especially in the field of green energy and electric automobile, said the industry captains.
Supply chain eco-system
V. Atchut Rao, president of the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI), said the focus of the budget was on creation of unified logistics platform and developments of 100 new cargo terminals in the next three years. “Theseare significant steps towards improving the supply chaineco-system in the country,” he said.
Satish Vitta, vice-president of the FAPCCI, said that the Budget heavily focused on integrating technologies across the sectors and virtual digital assets and it had the potential to make the country a leader in the blockchain revolution.
