Indian industry hails Budget for 2018-19

Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-01 18:42:52|Editor: Lifang
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NEW DELHI, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Captains of the Indian industry hailed the budgetary proposals presented in the Union Budget for 2018-19 on Thursday by the country's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, saying it was a very balanced budget aiming at inclusive growth for boosting the country's economy.

President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Rashesh Shah said the Union Budget aimed at building the whole economy, bringing prosperity to every culture, and that raising MSPs (minimum support prices) for agriculture produce was good for Indian farmers.

"A very balanced budget overall. Health protection scheme for 10 crore families (40 percent of India's population) is a fantastic step towards universal health care. We might be far from it but we are definitely moving in the right direction," said the FICCI chief.

Welcoming the budgetary proposals, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Ganesh Kumar Gupta said that it was a balanced budget for the country aiming at inclusive growth and transforming rural India. The focus of the budget is on agriculture, rural economy, infrastructure, MSME (micro, small & medium enterprises) and exports.

"The target to take agri-exports from 30 billion U.S. dollars to 100 billion dollars is very encouraging as agri-exports would be instrumental in doubling farmers' income. The state-of-art facility in 42 mega food park will unleash the potential of food processing exports," he added.

FIEO chief also said that 15 percent growth in exports is very much on the card as global trade was booming supported by buoyancy in commodities. However, a volume-wise growth would pose some challenge due to appreciation of Indian rupee, liquidity crunch and increasing protectionism across the globe, he cautioned.

Rajan S. Mathews, Director General of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said that he applauded the government's vision and commitment towards Digital India and the Digital economy.

He stated: "Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has recognised the importance of a resilient cyberspace and doubled the allocation for centres of excellence across the country. We are also enthused to see that the government will now be spearheading a national program to direct efforts in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, block-chain, robotics, and digital as a way of life."

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