The Hindu Business Line : AP: A people’s Budget, say industry bodies

Hyderabad, July 24 Welcoming the State Budget for 2009-2010 Mr. Y Harish Chandra Prasad, Chairman, CII Andhra Pradesh, said that this is a people’s Budget.

He said it gave priorities to agriculture, industrial promotion, infrastructure, education and health, which reiterates its focus on inclusive growth.

CII Andhra Pradesh is happy that the Budget enhanced allocations for incentives for industrial promotion from Rs 91 crore in 2008-09 to Rs 217 crore. This will certainly boost the micro, small and medium enterprises. Through this allocation, some incentives must also be given to new entrepreneurs.

It welcomed the Government’s desire to utilise the private sector resources and actively involve the industry for infrastructural development, especially in the airports, ports and highways sector.

However, it expressed concern about the increasing fiscal deficits, which stands at 3.96 per cent of GSDP in the Budget Estimates 2009-2010. CII Andhra Pradesh would also like to see that the percentage of planned expenditure to be more than the non-plan expenditure.

The President of the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI), Mr K. Harishchandra Prasad, said the Finance Minister is constrained to raise resources as economic slowdown appears to have adversely affected the Budget formulations for the year 2009-10.

The budgetary provision of Rs 1,03,485 crore appears to be quite large but it is inadequate in providing allocations for the development of industry which is a very small provision of Rs 217 crore, he said.

The allocation of the Budget for infrastructure is also quite minimal, particularly for roads, which is only Rs 200 crore. Even housing sector did not have desired allocation which is less amounting to Rs 1800 crore.

Infrastructure, power generation, industrial development, urban renewal programmes which would generate a lot of employment and demand for the industrial goods, these sectors are not adequately allocated.

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