Chennai, Feb 3: Major business executives from top organisations and MNCs reacted to the Union Budget 2020, offering praise and terming it as a success.
Murugappa Group Executive Chairman of Murugappa Group, MM Murugappan said, ‘The Government acknowledged its fiscal challenges, resorting to the escape clause in the FRBM (pushing up the deficit to 3.8 per cent in FY 20 and 3.5 per cent in FY21) with total expenditure increase by 13 per cent (higher increase in capex) resulting in incremental improvements across sectors.’ On the agenda of doubling farmersā income, MM Murugappan said, ‘While continuing to remain committed to the doubling of farmerās income, the Government has laid out a long term plan for the agricultural sector, detailing 16 broad initiatives that would help achieve Governmentās objective.’
SICCI
Southern Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) welcomed the budget saying that it ‘has rightly focused on agriculture, irrigation, rural development, sanitation, healthcare, education and infrastructure.’ On Education, SICCI said that the budget has rightly provided the opportunity for the younger generation by way of providing skill training and one-year internship for fresh graduates for municipal, gram panchayat and urban municipalities. On industry, SICCI said that the Finance Minister has provided much-needed relief to the MSME sector by way of invoice financing (factoring); subordinated debt under the central government guarantee scheme to be considered as quasi-equity, equity and technical assistance from Exim Bank and SIDBI apart from extension of loan restructuring by another one year.
CBRE
Chairman and CEO – India, South East Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE, Anshuman Magazine lauded the budget terming it as ‘a progressive and a one that touched upon every section of the economy’. ‘It is noteworthy that she stressed upon building on aspirational India in order to boost the standard of living, economic development for all and building a humane and compassionate society,’ said Anshuman in a statement.
CII
Chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Southern Region, Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu said, ‘The budget has addressed different sectors of economy with focus on technology, skill development, rural development, agriculture and MSMEs.’ Deputy Chairman of CII Southern Region, Satish Reddy said, ‘The announcement on expansion of the Ayushman Bharat programme by setting up additional hospitals in Tier-2 and 3 cities is a welcome move.’ The overall thrust on ease of doing business, regulatory simplicity and policy simplicity should help the industry scale new heights, he added. Chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Tamil Nadu State Council, S Chandramohan said, ‘It is a holistic and inclusive budget. The support given to the state governments for the implementation of model act of agriculture is important.’