Focus on job creation, capex boost, tax measures in Budget: Industry to FM

Employment-linked incentive scheme for services sector suggested

The upcoming Union Budget should prioritise job creation and taxation measures that will help increase broad-based consumption, representatives from various industry bodies recommended to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her team during their pre-Budget consultations on Monday.

Their suggestions included an employment-linked incentive scheme (ELI scheme) for the employment-intensive services sector and pilot programmes for a national rural employment guarantee scheme-like plan for cities. These industry bodies said there should be a focus on financing green energy and sustainable infrastructure initiatives. They, however, conceded that because of the current global macroeconomic situation, the private sector may still not see a complete