Industry captains react to Union budget with guarded optimism

Kolkata, Feb 28 (UNI) Captains of various industries in Eastern India today welcomed the union budget proposals for 2007-08 with guarded optimism and hoped that it would ensure faster all round economic growth.

Reacting to Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram's budget proposals for the next fiscal senior office bearers of all the city based Chambers of Commmerce and Industries, including the Confederation of Indian Industry(CII), Indian Chamber of Commerce(ICC), Bengal Chamber of Commerce said though the budget did not usher in any new reform process, it had showed the way for long term growth in various sectors, particularly in the field of infrastructure.

Vice-Chairman of the Gujarat-Ambuja Group Harsh Neotia while welcoming the overall budget, described it as 'pro-commoners'. He felt that allocation of funds for the development of health, education and several infrastructural projects would go a long way in ensuring the much talked about double digit growth in GDP in the 11th Plan period, beginning this year.

Noted industralist and President ICC S K Bangur complimenting the Finance minister for suggesting 'positive steps to increase the revenue and aiming to reduce the revernue deficit from 4.3 per cent last year to 3.5 per cent', also hoped that proper implementation of eight flagship projects, as announced by Mr Chidambaram, would take the country to the double digit growth.

He also hailed the government's attempts to bring down the rate of inflation to less than five per cent from around 6.2 per cent now through various fiscal discipline and hoped that the timely completion of a number of infrastructural projects would ensure speedy growth of Industry across the country including the Northeast. In this connectiion he also welcomed the proposal to allocate additional funds for the Northeast.

Mr Sanjay Budhia, Chairman of Rs 200 crores Patton Industries and a senior member of CII and ICC, was a little critical about the Finance Minister's propoisal to increase the rate of dividend tax by 2.5 per cent from the present 12.5 per cent(to 15 per cent) and felt that it was bound to have a negative effect on the industry as a whole. He was also cautious about reating to the proposal for further widening the service tax net.

But regarding the proposal for making the use of PAN card mandatory for all financial transaction, Mr Budhia said it was a step in the right direction.

Mr Bhusan Raina, Vice-President, Corporate Affairs Tata Steel and chairman of CII Export Commiottee was more candid in saying that the Budget was "as expected and as anticipated by the industry" and hoped that FBT should have some more friendly features apart from having the stock option and the exemption of free smaples and displays.

BCCI President and Managing Director of DESCON S Radhakrishnan in a somewhat reserved comment described today's budget proposals as " nothing but a normal routine speech with having substantial focus on infrastructure and social security." " We had expected some innovative infrationary management approach to the budget which was not very visible at the outset. However,one of the interesting features has been allowing foreign exchange reserves for infrastructure development," he said and described it as an interesting approach.

Among others BCCI Secretary General K Mukherjee and his counterpart in ICC Rajeev Singh seemed fairly optimistic about the overall budget proposals and hoped that several price cotrol mechanism like the one in cement industry would certainly lead to the continuous reform process.

UNI