Budget ticks some right boxes for local industry

MSMES WILL BENEFIT FROM EXPANSION OF NATIONAL HIGHWAYS AND RAILWAYS, SAY INDUSTRY LEADERS

LUDHIANA: There was a mixed response to the Union Budget from the industry. Focus on digital payments and steps aimed at ease of doing business were being cited as bright spots, while Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and exporters were a dejected lot as their demands didn’t bear fruits.

Hailing the extension of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) till 2023 with an additional corpus of ₹50,000 crore for hospitality and allied industries, those from the MSMEs said they expected much more for survival and revival after the pandemic setback.

Arshpreet Singh Sahni, vicechairman, CII,’sLudhiana chapter, said extending ECLGS will support the businesses which were impacted by the pandemic. “However, budget missed support to MSMEs on technology upgrade that was vital for pushing the sector to the next level,” he said. Amit Thapar, president, Ganga Acrowools Limited and vice chairman, CII, Punjab, welcomed the hike in infrastructure spending.“Focus of digital payment growth, lesser compliances and steps to ease of doing business are commendable,” he said. “There is relief to the secondary steel producers in the MSME sector as customs duty exemption given last year has been extended by a year,” he added.

“We welcome the budget as there is focus on promoting digital and technological innovations across sectors. There are extra benefits for start-ups. Additional measures to boost domestic manufacturing and reduce imports with focus on self-reliance are positive steps. The MSMEs are bound to benefit indirectly from projects like national highway expansion and new trains,” said Upkar Singh Ahuja, president, Chamber of Industrial & Commercial Undertakings (CICU).

Sarvjit Singh, co-convener, Export Committee, CICU, said for exporters, the budget is a letdown as they had raised certain demands which have not been redressed . “The exporters are facing acute shortage of containers as domestic players remain dependent on imported containers. Another demand was of developing an Indian shipping line of global standards as freight rates have gone up drastically. On these accounts, the budget is disappointing,” he said.

Badish Jindal, president, Federation of Punjab Small Industries Associations, termed the budget “directionless”, adding there was nothing that could pull the industry out of recession and generate employment. “The industry was expecting relief in direct taxes and also the simplification of tax structure, but that didn’t happen,” he said.

PLI scheme eludes bicycle industry

Hopes of the Ludhiana bicycle industry were dashed as the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme was not extended to bicycles. “India is missing the chance to align with the macros of the world by not including bicycles in the scheme. For India to become a global player in electric cycles, manufacturers should be eligible for the government’s automotive PLI. For localisation of critical imported parts, transfer of state-of-the-art process and product technologies are a must, and, hence, for bridging the viability gap, PLI support is necessary,” said Pankaj Munjal, chairman and managing director of Hero Cycles.