The Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman received a mixed response in Udupi on Saturday.
Srikrishna Rao Kodancha, president of Udupi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told The Hindu that it was a good budget in the present circumstances, one that would lead to GDP growth and stimulate employment. He said rural development and infrastructure had been given importance in the budget, and simplification of the personal income tax regime was a welcome move. Startups will benefit from this budget, he said.
Satyanarayana Udupa Japti, general secretary of the district unit of Bharatiya Kisan Sangha, said the budget would help in the development of the agriculture sector. It aims to provide 20 lakh farmers with standalone solar pumps. It has laid emphasis on cold storage and marketing, he said.
Vishwanathan Iyer, associate dean (academics), T.A. Pai Management Institute, said that overall it was a bold pro-middle class, pro-corporate and forward-looking budget. The big message is that wealth creators shall be respected, he said.
Simplified GST norms, revisiting Rule of Origin requirements, and tightening regulations relating to dumping of goods will benefit the MSME sector, he said. Ms. Sitharaman has not allowed fiscal deficit to spiral out of control, and this should definitely boost the business sentiment, he said.
K. Raghupati Bhat, MLA and BJP leader, said the budget was in favour of farmers, workers and the poor. It has allocated ₹15,000 crore towards the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Credit Card scheme.
It provides ₹3.6 lakh crore for the Jal Jeevan Mission, which places emphasis on augmenting local water resources, recharging existing sources, and promoting water harvesting. It has proposed raising fish production to 200 lakh tonnes by 2022-23, he said.
However, Bhaskar Rao Kidiyoor, spokesperson of the district unit of Congress, called it an “anti-people” budget. He said there was no explanation for how farmers’ income would be doubled. “There is nothing in it on employment generation. Except for some relief for income taxpayers, it has nothing to propel industrial growth,” he said.
Yogish V. Shetty, president of district unit of JD(S), said the budget was nothing more than window dressing at a time when the country’s economy was collapsing.
