Budget well directed, says Pune industry

Industry and business leaders in Pune have expressed general satisfaction over Finance Minister P Chidambaram's Budget for 2006-07 saying it has  addressed the "right sectors in the right manner."

Rahul Kirloskar, chairman of CII's Western Council and director of Kirloskar Oil Engines, said the finance minister has stayed the course in his attempts to streamline the country's revenue and fiscal deficit, as both have been kept in check. Kirloskar welcomed the move towards  implementation of the Goods and Services Tax(GST) across the country instead of the present complex tax regime.

Echoing Kirloskar's sentiments, Naushad Forbes, director, Forbes Maeshall said the provisions announced by the finance minister will pave the way to stability of the country's tax policy.

Deputy chairman and Managing Director of Zensar Technologies, Ganesh Natarajan, said the Budget's focus on infrastructure and education was welcome. This will trigger long term socio-economic progress, he pointed out.

CII Pune vice-chairman and chief of Praj Industries Pramod Chaudhari called the Budget agriculture friendly. The decision to reduce the small farmers' interest burden by 2 per cent is remarkable as well being of agriculture will result into demand creation. Chaudhari also expressed satisfaction over the finance minister's proposal o encourage manufacturing sector.

"For last many years, it was IT and IT that we were listening to, now he seems to have taken a note of the country's strength in manufacturing."

Daimler Chrysler India Director of Finance and Corporate Affairs Suhas Kadlaskar listed encouragement for infrastructure development and conditional removal of FBT on superannuation benefits among positive features of the budget. He also said the benefits offered to mutual funds will encourage major investments in these funds.

Meher Pudumjee, Chairperson of Thermax India, said the finance minister has announced provisions that will not come in the way of the country's industrial progress.

Most, however, criticised the continuation of the FBT though the finance minister has offered some modifications in respect of certain allowances and expenditure. Some also found fault with the reduction in excise duty in case of small cars. Piaggio's Managing Director Ravi Chopra said the duty cut should have been across the board.

"Selective cut will cause heartburn," he said. DaimlerChrysler's Kadlaskar too was critical about the relief offered on small cars. "The differentiation of cars for excise purposes looks artificial," he commented.

The real estate sector seems to be totally disappointed with the budget announced for 2006-07. Major players from the construction and real estate has indicated a heavy price hike in construction prices.
According to Lalit Kumar Jain, chairman of Kumar Builders and president of Promoters and Builders Association of Pune (PBAP), the finance minister has not taken real estate sector seriously at all.

Describing it as a disappointing Budget, Lalit Jain said, "We were
 expecting some soaps to housing sector but no single announcement has been made. The cement and steel prices are now likely to go up resulting in obvious price hike in housing industry. The price hike could be somewhere between 5 to 12%, he said.

Describing the Budget as, partially disappointing, Arun Kudale, chairman of SME sub-committee of MCCIA said, "Since there is no announcement of giving any benefit for investment made in research and development work, quality control measures in Small and Medium scale industrys' the budget seems to be disappointing for SMEs.

Also the finance minister has announced special grant to universities for the investment induced in research work but has left SEMs aside, which is not at all a good move.

Reduction in custom duty may result in to increased pressure on SMEs engaged in individual packaging business, he said.

"It is a good budget for Information technology sector," said Deepak
 Shikarpur, chairman of IT sub-committee of MCCIA. "Due to reduction in excise duty, prices of computers are now likely to come down. More thrust on rural connectivity would also be helpful for improving status of IT sector in semi urban and rural areas," he added.

The Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) has described the Union Budget for 2006-07 as 'satisfactory'. Ravi Pandit, President of MCCIA, while expressing his views on budget on behalf of MCCIA said keeping consistency in taxes and no new tax is a welcome move.

Appreciating the containment of both revenue and fiscal deficit, Pandit said " the finance minister has announced fairly good investment in social sector. Also there are progressive statements for banking and insurance sector. Commitment to invest more in infrastructure is a good sign of development."

Elaborating on some negative points about the budget, Pandit said there is no rigid statement about defense expenditure. The chamber was expecting some announcement about indigenization of defense  expenditure, he added.

"We would also be expecting strong policy statements for retail industry and a strong statement on labour reforms. Since we are talking about a mission to make India as a global manufacturing hub, there should be adequate thrust on strong labour laws and policies, which this budget failed to mention," Pandit said.