Trade bodies rue interim budget

Industry not happy with the budget

The Bangalore Chamber of Industry andu00a0Commerce (BCIC) is disappointed with the interim budget. BCIC President N N Upadhyayu00a0spoke to MiD DAY and expressed his displeasure.u00a0

"The interim budget is a vote-on-account exercise. So you don't expect a good deal. But considering the current state of industry,u00a0and going through the disturbances the manufacture, textile and financial services are undergoing, the industry needs a stimulus," he said. u00a0

"The industry and commerce minister Kamalnath hasu00a0been saying that the government would beu00a0providing a stimulus package. This was not given in the budget. After the election code of conduct is introduced the government would not be able to announce anything for another three to four months. Central government's ministry of labour has itself said that India has lost five lakh jobs in the last quarter. Inu00a0order tou00a0keep industries running, the government should have announced someu00a0stimulus," he said. u00a0

He added that the government's non-planned expenditure was three times more than the planned expenditure. He, however, listed out some good things in the budget like the increased allocation for drinking water, rural schemes andu00a0approval of 37 infrastructure projects.

"All this shows that the government wanted to please the aam aadmi," he said.

'No sops for demestic trade'u00a0u00a0u00a0

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), the apex body of the trading community in India, alleged that no step has been announced to strengthen the domestic trade.

B C Bhartia, national president and Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of the CAIT, said that providing loads of subsidies on government treasurers will burden the common man with lots of taxes.

"During slowdown, the taxes have to reduced but nothing has been done. There are no steps to ensure more liquidity in the economy. There are no concessions to realty, steel, automobile, textiles and infrastructure sectors. An economic package was needed for exports sector since it has seen a downfall of 17.1% in nine months of the current fiscal year," they said.u00a0

The trade leaders said that there is not a single word about GST in budget, despite government's assurance that it will be implemented by April, 2010.

In totality, the budget seems to be a lofty document of declarations-said trade leaders.

Gaurav Dua, head, research, Sharekhan, said the budget hadu00a0nothing for industry and markets.

"The finance minister has maintained status quo on the direct and indirect tax structure. Moreover, the fiscal deficit estimates of 6% for 2008-09 at center level is also higher than street expectations and indicates much higher stress on the overall fiscal situation," he said.

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