Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcement of the last tranche of the ₹20 lakh crore fiscal stimulus package on Sunday was welcomed by India Inc. which said the moves would infuse liquidity into the system and boost investments, leading to creation of jobs.
Harsh Goenka, chairman RPG Enterprises, told The Hindu, “Being the final tranche, it was keenly awaited. The announcements were more structural, dealing with job creation, insolvency law and PSE privatisation. More money was made available to the States.”
Welcoming the announcement on upgradation of industrial infrastructure, G.M. Rao, group chairman, GMR Group, said, “Many global corporations are evincing interest in India. The government’s industrial information system will provide a ready reckoner for global investors to [identify] manufacturing locations in India, generating significant employment in the process.”
Satish Pai, MD, Hindalco said, “The government has announced a series of bold measures for the metals sector, which demonstrates its commitment to follow through on sectoral reforms. These steps will not only improve ease-of-doing business, but also significantly contribute to the global competitiveness of the metals and mining industry.”
Confederation of Indian Industry director general Chandrajit Banerjee said, “The steps for PSE efficiency through a comprehensive privatisation programme and limited presence in very strategic sectors really go towards building the confidence of the private sector.”
J.D. Patil, director, L&T, said, “A separate budget for domestic capital procurement will protect indigenous programmes that have seen repeated deferment given the budgetary constraints caused by big ticket G-to-G contracts entered into as urgent requirements as the sector saw neglect earlier.”
“This will bring in renewed focus on indigenous defence production, build confidence of Indian private sector companies to invest and build capability. It also provides assurance to the supply-chain ecosystem of continued utilisation of built up capacity. It is hoped that this part of the budget will grow in percentage share, Year-on-year as directional commitment to indigenising defence,” he added.