Citizens were expecting a modification in income tax slabs but Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has kept them unchanged.
Even though corporate India hailed the third budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as a step to revive rural growth middle class people are unhappy with the budget. Citizens were expecting a modification in income tax slabs but Jaitley has kept them unchanged. There were announcements about raising of tax exemptions for house rent allowance from 24,000 to 60,000 and ceiling of tax rebate was raised from Rs. 2000 to Rs. 5000 for those people earning less than 5 lakh per annum but these steps failed to bring cheer for the middle class people. The Modi government aims to give a push to the rural sector which has been witnessing severe drought since last two years. By increasing spending in rural areas the government is keen to woo back farmers ahead of assembly election in states like West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Moreover, the government also is keen to send a stern message to the opposition which has been attacking it for favouring corporates and sidelining farmers.
C K. Subramaniam a retired banker said, “I am disappointed with the budget. Achhe Din is yet to arrive for the already taxed common man. The much hyped HRA is a small concession and with possibilities of increasing surcharges on services still open and with EPF becoming partially taxable, the little cheer offered is taken away. Sadly, no concrete efforts have been made by the Finance Minister to curb black money.”
RTI activist Anil Galgali said, “The finance minister has not mentioned about a single line to promote employment. Today when unemployment is increasing the government should have taken steps to boost employment.”
S.N. Kabra, a reader said, “The cat is finally out of the bag and one thought Finance Minister Arun Jaitley did a reasonably good job with the resources he could juggle to keep himself afloat when our economy is in the doldrums. India is a poor country with focus on agriculture which was well guarded and insured in Jaitley’s budget and that was positive at a time when past years saw many suicide deaths by farmers. The biggest disappointment was another amnesty scheme which one thought is encouraging black money than trying to control it.”
B.K Soni, Chairman and Managing Director of Eco Recycling Limited said, “This is one of the finest budget where the importance is given to circular economy by increasing the power of buying, in hands of the poorest of the poor farmers, other low income group and the increase in the opportunities for the employed and unemployed youth by having an access to the financial and other resources, thereby by creating more thrust will give E-Waste more boost to the industry, environment and employment.”
Sanjay Mehta, President, Metal Recycling Association of India (MRAI) said, “The Budget has brought down the customs duty on imports of brass scrap from 5% to 2.5%, which will help the brass scarp users for metal recycling. But the duties on imports of other categories of scrap such as steel scrap, stainless steel scrap, zinc scrap, lead scrap, aluminum scrap, copper scrap have not been reduced.”
Pramoud Rao, Promoter Managing Director, Zicom Group said, “The highlight of the budget was its special thrust on agriculture and measures taken to double the income of farmers. In this budget we can see a lot of focus on rural areas. The crop insurance scheme and other allocations show the government’s tremendous thrust on improving farmers welfare.”
Rana Kapoor, MD and CEO Yes Bank and Chairman, YES Institute on the Union Budget said, “FY17 Budget has provided a strong growth direction to the Indian economy. The Finance Minister has managed to balance the need to prioritize social sector requirements with economic and business imperatives. The segmented 9-Pillar Approach with well carved out deliverables will ensure execution clarity and focus.”
Sanjay Kirloskar, Chairman, CII Western Region said, “With adequate focus on farming, social sector, infrastructure and fiscal prudence, the Union Budget 2016-17 is broad-based. The target to double farmer’s incomes by 2022 is ambitious and higher allocation for irrigation schemes and crop insurance will positively impact the sector going ahead. Increased thrust on government investments in infrastructure will aid economic growth now that private sector investments are subdued.”
“Government has struck a balance of fiscal responsibility with 3.5% target. Local investment was on the lower side in India. However, global investors remain very positive on India as they want to invest here,” said Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises.
“It is nothing but a disappointing budget. There is no difference between the railway budget and general budget as both are major let down,” said Zubin Lakhdawala, a builder.
“The budget lacks vision. No announcements have been made for reviving the real estate sector. Exemptions have been offered for small home buyers which won’t provide any benefit to citizens residing in metropolitan cities where property prices are high,” said Farooq Chunawala of Fairmont Constructions.
“Raising the STT on options comes as a surprise. We expect traders will feel the pinch and shift from traditional brokerages to discount brokerages to offset this increase in trading expenses. However introduction of other derivative products in the commodity markets would give further venues for expansion and revenue growth,” said Shrey Jain, CEO South Asia Stocks.
MPCC President, Ashok Chavan said, “The government has tried to do a damage control act to woo the rural population after facing defeat in the assembly polls in several states. Even though the fuel prices have fallen but the government has not passed on the benefits to citizens. The government has failed to resolve the problems faced by farmers and has not offered loan waiver them.”
Leader of opposition in state assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said, “The government which had announced programmes like Start up India, Stand Up India is trying to wind up the nation. The erstwhile UPA government had done a good job as India remains unaffected despite slowdown faced by some countries in the world. Now the government is trying to revive the MNREGA scheme which was introduced during the UPA reign.”
“The government which came to power by promising to bring “Achhe Din” have failed to deliver their promise. They have revised taxes on several commodities,” said State NCP President, Sunil Tatkare.
“This union budget is a complete pro-business and pro-builders budget as the common man has been sidelined,” said Nawab Malik NCP spokesperson.
“Modi government once again proved it is good at overhyping things. The budget failed to give any relief or sign of hope for the farmers, poor or common man of this country. Jaitley has presented a pro-business budget,” Dr Sudhir Dhone, MPCC spokesperson.
