Reactions from North : The Tribune India

quick links

States

Cities

Opinion

Life

Move Ahead

Classified

Reach Us

The Tribune

Punjabi Tribune

Dainik Tribune

Burden on middle class

It is pro-rich and corporate sector-friendly as corporate tax rate has been reduced. Abolition of wealth tax shows the tendency of the government to develop a regressive tax system. With the reduction of revenue from direct taxes and imposition of indirect taxes, the burden is transferred to the middle class and poor. In the agriculture sector, except the incremental usual flow of credit, that too left on the will of the banks, no concrete step is being taken to solve the problems.

Dr Lakhwinder Singh, economist

Import duty stays

We were pinning hopes on the Budget for the revival of small-scale industry but it has disappointed us. Excise duty exemption limit for small-scale units should have been raised from Rs 1.5 crore to at least

Rs 5 crore. Import duty on Chinese goods has not been hiked as promised by Modi during elections.

HS Dhammu, president, Panipat industrial association

Push for start-ups

Steps aimed at giving a push to small entrepreneurs, including setting aside Rs1,000 crore for start-up entrepreneurs and reducing corporate tax, will boost investment and open employment avenues. Reduction of excise on leather shoes will give a boost to shoe manufacturers and consolidation of education cess will put an end to the cumbersome education tax procedures.

Arun Rawat, president, CII (Himachal chapter)

Good for MSME sector

The Budget has positive announcements for the MSME sector. The setting up of a Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank with a corpus of Rs20,000 crore and a credit guarantee corpus of Rs3,000 crore would encourage MSMEs to grow and graduate to the next level. Further, the setting up of a trade receivables discounting system for electronically financing trade receivables of MSMEs would ease working capital pressure on the sector.

Manu Kochhar, Chairman, CII Uttarakhand state council

Region to benefit

Some specific measures would benefit the northern region, such as AIIMS-like institutions in Punjab, Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir; IIMs in Jammu and Kashmir; Postgraduate Institute of Horticulture Research and Education in Punjab; a National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research in Rajasthan; a Apprenticeship Training Institute for Women in Haryana and Uttarakhand.

Pikender Pal Singh, Regional director, CII northern region