UNION BUDGET 2023- 24 FOCUSES ON MIDDLE CLASS, INFRA PUSH, JOB CREATION AND TECHNOLOGY: LAYS DOWN THE BLUEPRINT FOR AMRIT KAAL

The FY24 Union Budget is a growth-oriented and pro-development budget with sizeable capital investment for heading towards a bright future

Chandigarh, February 1, 2023: “The Union Budget 2023-24 presented by Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Finance Minister is a growth-oriented budget as it has clearly indicated the government’s vision for Amrit Kaal through a focus on the ‘7 Priorities’ of inclusive development, reaching the last mile, infrastructure and investment, unleashing the potential, green growth, youth power and financial sector,” said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman, CII Northern Region. At CII, we believe that this year’s budget scores well on many fronts including its focus on developing infrastructure, meeting green goals, providing tax relief to the middle class and boosting the MSME sector. Measures such as an increased outlay for affordable housing, enhanced focus on tourism and development of unity malls in key cities would give a fillip to the real estate sector, which will be further aided by the tax relief to citizens which should boost consumption appetite, he said.
 
Promoting Sabka Saath, Sabka Vishwas, the Union Budget focuses on promoting inclusive development of the agriculture sector, which is the major source of employment in the Northern Region, opined Deepak Jain, Deputy Chairman, CII Northern Region. The initiatives such as building Digital Public Infrastructure; setting up of Agriculture Accelerator Fund; enhancing the agriculture credit target to Rs 20 lakh crore and making India a global hub of millets are the steps in the right direction, he highlighted. CII also thanks the Hon’ble Finance Minister for accepting the recommendations on enhancing the prominent Credit Guarantee Scheme and easing the cost of credit by reducing the interest rates for loans to MSMEs.
 
CII Northern Region is happy to note that this last full Budget before the 2024 general elections has ticked all the right boxes for growth and development. We welcome the government’s announcement towards infrastructure development through building fifty additional airports, heliports, water aerodromes etc which will improve regional air connectivity, especially for the landlocked Northern Region. CII also welcomes the government’s decision for increasing capital investment outlay by 33 per cent which amounts to 3.3 per cent of GDP. This will have a positive multiplier effect on economic growth. The highest ever outlay of Rs 2.40 lakh crore has been provided for the Railways, which will further spur regional connectivity.
 
CII is happy to note that the Union Budget 2023 has provided a boost to enhancing the ease of doing business by introducing reform measures, which are in line with CII recommendations including the reduction of 39,000 compliances, decriminalisation of more than 3,400 provisions and the introduction of Jan Vishwas Amendment Bill, 2022;  adoption of the Permanent Account Number (PAN) as a single business identifier; provision for allocation of Rs 7,000 Crore for Phase III of E-Court Project etc.
 
“CII also welcomes the Hon’ble FM's thrust on boosting domestic demand by augmenting personal disposable incomes through the various direct tax reforms announced in the budget”, added Amit Thapar, Chairman, CII Punjab.
 
Rajiv Kaila, Chairman, CII Chandigarh expressed that the budget has given a strong impetus to skill development and education through the setting up of 157 new colleges along with a new programme to promote research and innovation in the pharmaceuticals sector along with the setting up of 30 Skill India International Centres will also be set up across different States. The Budget also brings laser-sharp focus to AI-led skill development by announcing the establishment of three centres of artificial intelligence, he added.