 "Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presenting the Annual Budget 2016-17 in the Lok Sabha")
The industry of Northeast has welcomed the 2016-17 Union budget, presented by finance minister Arun Jaitley, in the parliament today.
“We welcome the emphasis given by the finance minister on jobs, rural development, and structural reforms and transformation,” said Abhijit Barooah, co-chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) North East Council.
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He added that the Budget had laid major emphasis on entrepreneurship and small business which would spur the entrepreneurship movement in the northeastern region. Further, lowering of corporate taxes for units with revenue below Rs 5 crore and 100% tax exemption for startups for three years would benefit small business and the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector in the region, he said.
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“Notwithstanding the impact of the Seventh Pay Commission, one rank one pension outgo and global economic slowdown, the finance minister must be given credit for presenting a all inclusive balanced and growth oriented budget with a focus on rural and agriculture sector on the one hand and infrastructure on the other hand,” said R S Joshi, chairman of Federation of Industry and Commerce of North Eastern Region (FINER), the leading trade and industry body of Northeast.
The Budget has allocated Rs 500 crore for scheduled caste, scheduled tribe and women entrepreneurs under the Stand-Up India scheme. Additionally, the proposed MSME Hub in partnership with industry associations to provide professional support to SC/ST entrepreneurs is also expected to play a role in the region.
The proposed structural reforms and infrastructure augmentations including high impact announcement on enhanced road infrastructure to the tune of over Rs 97,000 crore are expected to promote tourism, supply chain, logistics sector and create greater job opportunities, said Barooah.
He added that the proposal to have 1,500 multi-skilled centres would create a pool of skilled manpower in the country.
“The Union budget is prudent and at the same time ambitious. The sting may come on his fiscal targets unless revenue is not overestimated. It is well balanced and has made the much awaited attempt to create the enablers for growth and unlock the true potential of the country. Creating growth engines for rural areas and complementing these by enhancing the infrastructure sector outlays have positive effects in the Northeastern region,” said Barun Barpujari, former chairman, of CII’s Assam State Council.
Joshi felt that since the outlay of rural sector had been significantly enhanced in the budget, the agriculture-dominated Northeastern state economies could now expect a “quantum jump” in resource allotments.
