What businesses say about Budget 2019?

New Delhi, Feb 1: The interim Budget unveiled by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday has got thumbs up from business houses and industrialists. However, the small traders are not happy with the budget.

When Goyal presented the government's last budget before the general elections, India's middle class and small farmers hit the jackpot as the government doled out tax relief measures and a huge giveaway for farmers in a series of populist moves.

The India Inc. said the budget will stimulate demand and boost economic growth.

"India's middle class, small traders and farmers are the lifelines of its economic growth. By catering to these ambitions #Budget2019 infuses hopes for millions of dreams," Adani Group Chairman and Founder Gautam Adani tweeted.

Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said in a tweet, "I was bracing for a populist, profligate budget driven by 'election panic.' I'm just grateful that the reliefs to the key middle class & farmer segments were delivered in a measured way without risking bankruptcy of the economy. This was a controlled, pump-priming exercise..."

CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said the Budget for 2019-20 touched the right notes for stimulating demand and growth in the economy.

Walmart India President and CEO Krish Iyer also said the Budget rightly focused on the middle class, rural sector and on enhancing farmers' income.

Welcoming the Budget, FICCI tweeted, "@ficci_india feels that the #budget2019 is positive & will help address the challenges faced by the agrarian sector, stimulate consumer demand and thus propel greater investments & higher growth."

FICCI President Sandip Somany said, "We feel that the budget is positive and will help address the challenges faced by the agrarian sector; stimulate consumer demand and thus propel greater investments and higher growth."

However, the Budget did not elate the small traders. Their body, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), said "The Union Budget though seems to be overall good has utterly neglected the trading community and it has highly disappointed 7 crore traders of the Country who were hoping very high from the budget."

CAIT National President B.C.Bhartia & Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that every other section of the economy has been given relief in the budget except the trading community which is the backbone of the economy.

"The budget makes us to feel that trading community is like an unwanted community in the Country."

They added that "after renaming DIPP as Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and giving no extension to FDI policy in e commerce, the traders were hopeful that they will get due attention in the Budget but with totally left out from the Budget, the traders feel aggrieved".

However, the CAIT has said that it will send a fresh memorandum to Prime Minister and Finance Minister urging them to take care of the trading community.