The Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UCCI) is pessimistic about the effect of the maiden Budget of the Modi Government on the common man and doubted that it can usher in Acche Din for the country immediately. It also expressed strong disappointment at the concerns of Odisha being mostly ignored.
UCCI Vice-President (commerce) Binod Dash told a news conference here that the Union Budget would belie the hope of the common people due to the increase in the prices of petroleum products and essential commodities. He also described the proposal for one more committee to examine the problems of the MSME sector as repetition of a futile exercise. Though there has been some fund allocation for the MSME sector, it is not enough for either servicing the industries or financing new ones, he observed.
Dash, however, acknowledged that many provisions in the budget are good for the country in general. He specifically mentioned the provisions to reduce the fiscal deficit from over 5 per cent to 3.6 per cent in the current financial year and bring it down to below 3 per cent in the next few years. The other good provisions include the focus on rural entrepreneurship, tax relief in the shape of higher exemption ceilings and constitution of an expenditure management, he said.
Other UCCI members converged on the conclusion that the budget has overall failed to address the concerns of Odisha. They pointed out that nothing has been mentioned about development of tourism which would hinder the economic progress of the State which has strong untapped potentials in this front.
The other examples cited by the speakers as cases of being ignored, while others got special allocations, include lack of clarity in policies regarding port development, establishment of handloom parks and inland waterways. The speakers also regretted that Odisha is ignored in development of airports, adequate railway lines and national industrial corridor.
The general conclusion was that the budget aims at attracting investment from abroad and broadly indicates a roadmap with thrust on a lot of reformatory measures which encourage both consumption and manufacturing but has done nothing to bring the poorer States to the path of faster development.