Industrialists and chambers of commerce felt that the Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was quite balanced, however some said she could have been kinder to the MSME sector, which has been ailing due to high raw material costs.

C.K. Ranganathan, chairman, CII Southern Region and chairman, CavinKare Pvt. Ltd., said the Finance Minister presented a very growth-oriented and transformative budget, which will not only strengthen the economic recovery currently underway, but also lay the foundation for bolstering the medium to long-term growth potential of the economy. He also welcomed the support given to agriculture and infrastructure as growth drivers and highlighted that there were minimalistic tax changes in this year’s budget allowing for capital expenditure, job creation and support for start-ups.

K. Suresh, president of the Hindustan Chamber of Commerce, called it a growth-oriented and non-political budget announced in the given circumstances. But he pointed out that raw material price increase, which has greatly affected MSME segment, has not been addressed. “Assistance expected from the Centre in the form of subsidies to MSMEs, encouraging them to use more and more digital and technology tools, have not materialized in this Budget. Employment generation in the MSME sector is a function of growth. No firm proposal in the Budget to contain costs/spur growth of MSMEs,” Mr. Suresh added.

Ar Rm Arun, president of the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI), pointed out that the move to replace the special economic zones (SEZs) act with new legislation for the development of enterprise and hubs is a much needed measure. “It will enhance the competitiveness of our exports, introduce agility in SEZ activity and reduce the compliance burden. Tamil Nadu which hosts a significant number of world class SEZs will surely benefit from this decision,” he said. SICCI also called for the speeding up of the launch of the Digital Payments Bank by the Government of Tamil Nadu to ensure that the State reaps the benefits of the fintech boom.

Srivats Ram, president of the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the budget laid the foundation for the sustained growth of the economy by growing capital formation, employment and capabilities. M. Ponnuswami, chairman, Policy and Ease of Doing Business Sub-Committee, CII-SR and chairman and managing director of Pon Pure Chemical India Pvt. Ltd., welcomed the reduction of procedural burden in relation to Ease of doing Business.

S. Chandramohan, the co-chairman of Agri and Food Processing Sub-Committee, CII-SR and director of TAFE Ltd., appreciated the digital public-private partnership model of investment in the agri sector, and said the support offered to agriculture start-ups, the push for chemical free natural farming, overall digitisation of agriculture and the five river linking project, were all good initiatives.