Nagpur: The budget has not been able to raise the spirits of the middle and upper middle class in city who were hoping the government would provide them some relief in terms of income tax. "They should have raised the slab to at least Rs3 lakh as that would have benefited a very big chunk of people," said businessman Perseed Jall adding that otherwise too he was not expecting anything. "The so-called sops for elderly are also nothing to write home about," he added.
Expressing her disappointment with the budget, entrepreneur Aruna Jagtap said, "The current issues that the middle class is struggling with have not been resolved. The fuel prices are so high we are actually learning use it sparingly. Change in prices of gold, silver or property prices either ways does not impact our lives, it is the day to day stuff that matters and we should be left with more money in our pockets. This budget does not address them," she said.
Not at all excited about the budget, Avantika Chitnavis, trustee of Chitnavis Centre, who also runs a artefact and lifestyle store said, "The announcement about health care sounds so fantastic. But it is ambitious too as from where will the government find the money to implement all this?" Terming the budget as one that will generate a negative sentiment in stock market, businessman Ashok Daga said, "Today from young to elderly, everybody relies on stock market to get some return on their investments. By bringing back the long term capital gains tax, the government is discouraging these investments too. This budget is not a nice one for investors."
Looking for sops to exporters which would make them more competitive in foreign markets, art designer and entrepreneur Gurdeep Kapoor said, "Tax rebates can give exporters the right push. We will have to wait and watch how the newly rolled out Trade Infrastructure for Export scheme works out."
The proposal to offer 1.5 times the cost to farm produce does not consider the actual investment of the farmer on the ground, said a medium level farmer Purushottam Bhattad. "The government should consult the farmers to find out the actual investment cost before deciding on these figures. We also wanted that a product which is grown in a particular region should get the best price there itself. For this, nearby markets which buy at fixed rates would be welcome. The government has made many provisions for agricultural sector. I only hope that they are able to implement them effectively, " he added.
