Guwahati, Feb 1: The Federation of Industry and Commerce of North Eastern Region ((FINER) has hailed the Union Budget 2023-24 presented by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday.
Welcoming the budget, FINER president Bajrang Lohia said the Union finance minister presented a citizen-centric, growth-oriented budget, which clearly sets the priorities going ahead, aiming at a stable tax regime.
“The budget focuses on the youth, women, and disadvantaged people in general, and strives for enabling opportunities among the people,” Lohia said.
“The announcement of laying Rs 2491 crore for the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme is a huge relief to the industry fraternity of the region,” he said.
Under the scheme, 100 percent central funds are provided to the state governments of the North Eastern Region for projects of physical infrastructure relating to water supply, power and connectivity enhancing tourism and social infrastructure relating to primary and secondary sectors of education and health.
Capital investment has been increased substantially to Rs 10 lakh crore, which is three times the outlet that was provided in 2019. This substantial increase in recent years is to enhance growth and job creation.
“Rise in investment in infrastructure and productive capacity will be a boon to employment generation. It is quite appreciative that the highest ever capital inlay of Rs 2.4 lakh crore for railways has been laid aside,” he said.
“The budget also emphasised on setting up artificial intelligence (AI) centres, which will have a huge impact on the sectors of agriculture and health,” the FINER president said.
The budget envisages an open-source digital infrastructure for agriculture and an agriculture accelerator fund focused on youth in the rural areas.
The budget dictates the government’s push to make India the millet hub, he said.
“Moreover, the Agriculture Accelerator Fund will encourage innovative start-ups in the rural areas,” he said.
The FINER president further said that the Union Budget 2023-24 is an all-inclusive fiscal booster dose for the industries, which would enable the Indian economy to be back on a high-growth trajectory, and also pave the way for the next 25 years.
“The simplified tax benefits will not only enhance MSMEs, cooperatives and start-ups, it also rationalises tax benefits of authorities, boards and commissions,” Lohia said.
“We in the Northeast however do not see any mention of the industrial policy for the Northeast, which expired last year. The share in private investment in the Northeast has shrunk substantially over the years after the completion of the period of North East Industrial and Investment promotion Policy (NEIIPP, 2007). We would hope that the announcement thereof would be there sooner than later,” he said.
“Overall, in the budget, there is increased focus on employability, AI inclusion in different sectors, employment generation in the MSME sector and recruitment with a view to formalise entrepreneurial opportunities. As a signal of fiscal stability, the government has done well not to tinker with rates and make cosmetic changes,” Lohia said.