KOCHI: The leaders of industry chambers and other experts in Kerala have welcomed the decision of the union finance minister Piyush Goyal to hike the income tax exemption limit, direct income delivery of Rs 6,000 marginal farmers and a slew of other measures giving relief to various sections of the people.
“The highlight of the budget is the tax reliefs provided to the salaried class, which would grea-tly benefit the middle income group”, said V Venugopal President Co-chin Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The tax benefits for interest earned on bank deposits and home sales are also expected to benefit the middle class.
C.J. George managing director of the Geojit Financial Services said the interim budget presented by Finance Minister is an election budget by all means. “The budget makes everybody happy, although the revenue projections need to be watched very carefully in order to see control on fiscal deficit” he said
Mr. George cautioned about the lack of focus on employment and capital investment. “At a time when the unemployment is reported to be at 45 year high and corporate sector investment is at 14-year low there has been widespread expectations for direct investment boosters in the budget for creating more job opportunities”, he said.
The focus on healthy India by building a distress free, functional and comprehensive healthcare and wellness system by 2030 is a positive highlight of the budget, said Dr. Azad Moopen chairman and managing director of Aster DM Healthcare. “We are hopeful that this will eventually res-ult in reducing the urbanrural gap in healthcare delivery”, he said.
Describing the budget as progressive M.G. George Muthoot, chairman, FICCI Kerala State Council said it addresses the current challenges of the economy and the future growth potential.
