CII Vizag praises Union Budget as investor-friendly
The Hindu
CII Vizag praises Union Budget 2024 as investor-friendly, A.P.-friendly, with focus on infrastructure, MSMEs, and industrial growth.
The Confederation of Indian Industry(CII), Visakhapatnam, has described the Union Budget – 2024, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, as investor-friendly and A.P.-friendly budget, which will spur the industrial and economic growth of the State and the nation.
A live screening of the budget was arranged by the CII here on Tuesday. It was followed by an interaction with media persons.
CII, Vizag, chairperson Grandhi Rajesh welcomed the announcement of the Union Finance Minister that ₹15,000 crore would be arranged as special financial assistance to Andhra Pradesh through multilateral agencies, in the current financial year, for the construction of the capital at Amaravati. The Centre has also expressed its commitment for completion of the Polavaram project, the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh, which was vital for the food security of the nation. He also appreciated the renewed commitment of the Centre to the A.P. Reorganisation Act, 2014, which was overlooked in the previous budgets. The overall budget of ₹11.11 lakh crore on infrastructure would accelerate economic growth, he said.
Mr. Rajesh said that reducing the import duties on gold and silver from 15% to 6% would benefit the common people apart from boosting retail demand and checking smuggling.
The announcement of two industrial nodes at Kopparthy in the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) and Orvakal in Andhra Pradesh, would spur industrial activity in the region. The announcement of special grants to the backward districts of North Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema and Prakasam came in for appreciation.
The CII representatives hailed the focus and support given to MSMEs in the budget. The incentives given to the MSME sector would have multiplier effect on the economy. G. Sambasiva Rao, past chairperson, CII, Vizag, said that the location of five seaports in the VCIC would provide better connectivity apart from reducing logistics cost. The skilling initiatives and the employment-linked incentive scheme would be beneficial to both employees and employers.
R.V.S. Rudra Raju, past chairperson, said that the reduction of BCD (Basic Customs Duty) on marine products by 5% would boost the export of marine products from Visakhapatnam.