'IT industry expected more'

The reduction in personal income tax and introduction of additional investment incentives is a welcome relief for the large IT industry employees. However, the IT industry would have liked to see the extension of the tax benefits under the STPI scheme beyond 2011 and no increase in the MAT. The increase in MAT is likely to impact the SMEs the hardest and was avoidable at least for the IT industry. Both these are missed opportunities for the government to further boost the IT industry, which is recovering very well in the last three months and we hope these will be considered by the government in the coming days.
Narsimha Rao, president ITsAP (Information Technology and Services Industry Association of Andhra Pradesh)

No focus on GM seeds

Overall, it is a controlled Budget with a major thrust laid on non-conventional energy, education and the agricultural sector. . However, the Union Minister should have also given some priority to nutrition-based fertilisers and other agricultural inputs. India is currently importing 8.5 million tonne of vegetable oil every year. Genetically-modified seeds need to come in, which will help increase the production.
Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry

IT deployment to increase

The Budget indicated that IT deployment would increase across the sectors in the country. The UID project would decrease the leakages in the public distribution system and therefore benefit the poor. The $50 billion IT exports are now happening only from five cities and there is a need to develop other cities as IT destinations.
BVR Mohan Reddy, CMD, Infotech Enterprises

Positive for telecom

The budget has identified the potential of the telecom sector and has brought good news for the sector by making mobile phones cheaper, which will further boos this already growing sector. After a very balanced budget, now the key thing is to see how to sustain a GDP growth rate of 7.2 per cent under high inflationary pressure.
Debasis Chatterji, CEO of Netxcell Limited

Sops to help infra sector

The allocation of Rs 19,894 crore for development of roads augurs well for the infrastructure sector. The initiative of developing 20 km of roads per day would provide fillip to the industry.  The thrust on upgrading infrastructure by providing 46 per cent of the total plan allocations will definitely provide a boost to the construction industry. 
TV Sandeep Reddy, MD, Gayatri Projects

Hike in MAT to impact ind

The rollback of fiscal stimulus should have been gradual. The hike in MAT would impact the industry. Also, the increase in fuel prices would have a cascading impact and will hit growth. On the positives, there would be a transparency in allotment of coal blocks.
Y Harishchandra Prasad, CII chairman-AP