Chandigarh, Feb 1 : The Union Budget was focused on lives and livelihood in the backdrop of economy ravaged by Covid-19 pandemic, said CII Northern Region Chairman Nikhil Sawhney on Monday.
“At CII, we appreciate the fine balancing done to soothe the economy as well as boost it by way of increased capital expenditure, focus on creating physical infrastructure, healthcare spending,” he said in a statement.
“CII Northern Region is happy to note that the Budget ticked all the right boxes of lives, livelihood and growth which would propel the economy to an inclusive growth trajectory.
“We expect the reform process to continue beyond the budget announcements.We welcome the Rs 118,452-crore grant to meet the revenue deficit of 17 states during 2021-22 as this will help the states in meeting their development and capital expenditure plan that suffered due to lower GST collections.”
Responding to the announcements for the northern states, Sawhney said many northern states are the hub of MSMEs, and “there are many positives for the sector such as rationalisation of custom duty structures will boost the sector”.
“Another budget proposal to establish seven textile parks will help many textile hubs in northern India such as Ludhiana, Bhilwara, Gurgaon and Panipat in their technological upgradation and export competitiveness,” he said.
The northern region of the country is land locked and the stress on expansion of physical infrastructure will go long way in connecting the north with the rest of the world, he said.
The CII welcomed the deadline to complete the eastern and western dedicated freight corridors by June 2022.These corridors will link northern region states with ports in western and eastern India, said the statement.
The announcement of bringing 1,000 more ‘mandis’ under the e-NAM umbrella and enhancing agricultural credit target to Rs 16.5 lakh crore in FY22 will greatly benefit the agrarian states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, etc.
“The announcement for setting up of Central University in Leh will greatly help in meeting the aspirations of the youth of newly carved Union Territory,” Sawhney added
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