Budget is welcomed, though more was desired for MSMEs: KASSIA

Bengaluru, Feb 1 (KNN) The budget presented by Aurn Jaitley,  Finance Minister, has indeed laid welcome emphasis on infrastructure development and augmentation which is crucial for the growth of the economy, said Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA).  

The allocation of Rs.3.96 lakh crores for infrastructure development and the special emphasis on road development should help carry forward the work undertaken in this important segment in the previous years. Even this amount of allocation may not be adequate considering the infrastructure challenges that face the country.   The thrust laid on rural roads and rural infrastructure and the allocation provided will hopefully give a spurt to the growth of the economy, at a time when there are serious fears of slow down and contraction, KASSIA President A Padmanabha said while reacting to the Union Budget 2017.  

KASSIA particularly welcomes the move of the Minister to reduce income tax payable by small companies up to turnover of Rs.50 crores by 5% to 25%.  This should meet the demands of this sector   as far as the income tax is concerned by giving the necessary encouragement for greater investments, hopefully. 

“The doubling of the allocation under the Mudra Scheme to Rs.2.44 lakh crores is indeed important at a time when the SMEs have to struggle to access affordable funds for their development.    The Micro and Small Enterprises sector in particular suffers from inadequate access to finance at affordable rates of interest which is an area that needs to be particularly addressed in order to help this sector which has a big share in creating jobs and employment to the vulnerable section of the society,” Padmanabha said.

The reforms proposed in the higher education area and the moves to give autonomy to colleges run to high standards are the need of the hour.  The special emphasis on vocational training and skill development are also in line with the current policies of the Government as well as the requirement of the Indian economy, said KASSIA.   

However, it is not clear as to how the Government, which is laying a lot of stress on increasing  the share of manufacturing in the GDP, will bring this about in the absence  of clearly spelt out measures to achieve this, in the budget. This appears to be an area that has not been given the required emphasis, it added.

While the Government’s emphasis on growth with stability as it should be, the requirement for kick starting the economy which is perceptibly slowing down is extremely important.  It is to be hoped that the Government would be able to do this in the course of the year with the appropriate implementation of the measures proposed in the budget and the right targeting so as to address the critical segments of the economy, said KASSIA President. (KNN Bureau)