Populist budget and along expected lines; industry in K'taka

Bengaluru: Industry in Karnataka termed the union budget presented by finance minister Piyush Goyal a populist budget ahead of Lok Sabha election and said it was along expected lines.

The Chief Managing Director of Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, welcomed the budget saying “it is an election year Budget that expectedly has something for everyone, from farmers to traders, workers in the unorganized sector to the salaried middle class.” 

She said the income tax relief would boost urban demand and the assured income support programme for small farmers would lead to revival in rural consumption, both of which augur well for overall economic revival.

In a statement, she hailed the pension scheme for the unorganised sector workers, saying it would provide a social security net for nearly 10 crore Indians and bring them under a registered jobs database.

Shaw expressed disappointment over the absence of any additional allocation for healthcare or incentives for Science and Technology.

For the startups sector, Angel tax holiday for 10 years was expected, but it did not happen, she said.

Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Sudhakar Shetty welcomed the budget, saying it had addressed those sectors needing immediate relief, while maintaining overall fiscal discipline and restricting the fiscal deficit to 3.4 per cent of GDP for 2019-20.

Century Real Estate Managing Director Ravindra Pai said the budget indicateed the governments seriousness to achieve a roof for every family by 2030.

While being optimistic that the tax exemption to the middle class would boost the real estate sector and increase demand, he said he was hopeful that the GST burden on home buyers will reduce.

“I hope the decision(s) taken by the group of ministers appointed by the GST council will significantly reduce the GST burden on homebuyers and include stamp duty within the ambit of GST which have been along standingdemand of the industry,” said Pai.

A similar view was echoed by realtor Ashish Puravankara, Managing Director of Puravankara Limited.

“An observed pattern in India is increased savings bring people closer to their aspiration of becoming home owners. This of course augurs positively for the Affordable Housing segment and will go a long way in addressing the housing issues of the nation,” he said.

The budget disappointed the education sector said D A Prasanna, director, The National Institute of Engineering College in Mysuru.

“Compared to last year’s budget,the significance given to education sector is really not up to the sectoral expectation. However, the positive side of it is that the outlay for premier engineering institutions (IIT) has increased.

Also the allocation for research and higher education has increased. Aspiration of leaders like NIE to rank high in the country and the world will take a longer period to realise,” Prasanna said