Women entrepreneurs left out in the budget, says Karnataka MSMEs

New Delhi, Feb 2 (KNN) The female entrepreneurs in the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) or small business segment were expecting a handful of sops from Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget 2022-23 but it seems government failed in addressing such demands in the budget,  Priya Puranik, State Secretary, Laghu udyog Bharati, Karnataka told to KNN India.

She said, “Women entrepreneurs expected allocation of funds to schemes and projects that empower women but the budget offers nothing specific to women” .

I feel this was a balanced budget, and the proposal for infrastructure development is a welcome step overall. The Finance Minister has tried to balance between various sectors, she added.

Priya said launching of mental health counseling, a National Tele Mental Health Program is an important step to maintain a healthy mental health balance especially during covid times. Also, two lakh Angadwadis will be converted to Saksham Angadwadis and launching of schemes like Mission Shakti, Mission Vatsala, and Poshan 2.0 will further empower women. 

There are also a lot of good welfare measures announced for the society like Har Ghar, Nal Se Jal and the infrastructure push through Gati Shakti. Also reducing the alternative minimum tax rate to 15% and surcharge to 7 % (for those whose income is between 1 crore and 10 crores) for cooperatives will give the sector the much needed relief she added. (KNN/ AT)