CII President lauds Budget

Chennai, Feb 28 (UNI) The Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) President R Seshasayee today lauded the Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram's budget for its sound economic management at the macro level and for its key feature in adherence to fiscal targets.

In a release here, while reacting to the presentation of the Government's statement of accounts for 2007-08, he said Mr Chidambaram had presented a wonderful progress report for the economy.

The macro-economic management has resulted in strong positive position in the fiscal space, restricting revenue deficit to 1.5 per cent and fiscal deficit to 3.3 per cent for the year 2007-08, he added.

The strong emphasis on agriculture, education and skills, as well as the innovative ideas on infrastructure were on the right track for inclusive growth, Mr Seshasayee said.

The initiative taken for a Revolving Fund of Rs 100 crore for project development was a commendable decision, as the concept of national projects allows direct Central Government intervention in infrastructure projects, he added.

The CII President said the reduction of 7.5 per cent in customs duty was a step in the right direction. This, however, should be concurrent with internal reforms in GST, and reduction in transaction costs, he added.

Mr Seshasayee said "under direct taxes, the irritants of MAT, FBT and surcharge could have been removed, but instead, these have been infused with renewed vigour by extending it to inappropriate areas.

UNI