Gurugram, Feb 1 (IANS): After the presentation of the Union Budget in Parliament on Monday, economic experts in Gurugram said it is a very balanced and development-oriented Budget.
They said that this Budget will strengthen the economy of the country which has been derailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It will also give a boost to small industries and start-ups, along with the automobile and textile sectors.
The experts said that the most important thing is that through this Budget, the government has made a concerted effort to take the country on the path of progress, while not trying to please any particular region or class.
On the other hand, the people associated with the industry said that the Budget as a whole is quite impressive.
"This budget is a balanced budget. It is promoting small industries, start-ups, automobile and textile sectors. Through this budget, the central government may not have made any concrete provision for industries directly, but indirectly this budget will encourage industrial expansion, development and investment much easier. The government should reduce the rate of GST," said J.N. Mangla, President, Gurugram Industrial Association.
People associated with the corporate sector said that this budget is better. Amid the pandemic, there cannot be a better budget than this. This is a time when the government is also short of funds. Reducing corporate tax is a good decision.
"The kind of attention given to the health sector in the budget is commendable and futuristic. The lesson from the Covid-19 pandemic is that our health services should be better. The government took this message and increased the health sector budget by 137 per cent, which is a record in the country's budgetary history. Soon the government is also going to establish a revenue portal for corona vaccine as the vaccine is being exported to other countries which will help to boost the economy of our country," said Dr Swati Maheswari, a health expert.
FDI in the insurance sector has been increased from 49 to 74 per cent. This will increase employment prospects. Special attention has also been paid to the education sector and creation of employment for youth and their skill development.
"This is a commendable budget as this will speed up the pace of development in the country. The provisions made in this regard for infrastructure development are welcome. Through this budget, the weakness of the health sector will be removed and the dream of a healthy India will be realised. This budget will also reduce the dependency on China. Arrangements have been made in this budget to make the agriculture sector dynamic. The steps taken to promote quality of life will benefit people," she said.
Economic expert Amandeep Negi said Covid-19 brought in a crisis and this budget will prove to be balanced as well as boost growth. There is one thing that is not good for the textile industry which is the increase in import duty on cotton fibre by five per cent. This will increase the cost of production. The government should consider it again.
"There is a lot in the budget for health, education, agriculture, industry, transport and infrastructural development. The scope of income tax exemption was expected to increase but nothing happened. Anyway, the government is short of funds at this time," said Anil Lamba, a financial affairs expert.
"The Budget is according to the expectations of the common people. It has everything for the poor, farmers, elderly, women and industrialists. The Finance Minister has allocated additional funds for agriculture, health, infrastructure, roads, railways etc. So overall it is a balanced budget," said local BJP MLA Sudhir Singla.