Overall, Union budget 2018-19 is very balanced
India's finance minister Arun Jaitley presented Union Budget 2018-19 in Parliament
on February 1, 2018. Fibre2Fashion spoke to people from various segments of the
textile-apparel-e-commerce industry to get their reactions.
The budget has introduced some interesting schemes towards agriculture and rural development. They continue to support investments in infrastructure, which will support our portable compressor range. Many of our suppliers will benefit from the corporate tax reduction for MSMEs and perhaps it will encourage capital expenditure, which could in turn support our industrial compressor range. Overall, while there are no explicit manufacturing boosters, we hope that the momentum from the last quarter will sustain through 2018.
The 20 per cent higher allocation in infrastructure development in this budget shows the government’s thrust on renewing spurt in economic activity. The allocation of Rs 5.97 lakh crore for infrastructure spends which include the completion of 35,000 km under the Bharatmala project and targeted completion of 9,000 km of national highways by end of FY19 will have a positive impact on the overall growth of the country. The textile sector gets an increased allocation of Rs 7,148 crore from Rs 6,230 crore in the last budget. Overall the budget is very balanced with a youthful flavour. On one hand it focuses on growth and supporting innovation within the economy with special incentives for small and medium enterprises, on the other it has something for the senior citizens as well as women.
The Union budget 2018-19 is a very neutral and not a populist one as expected, unlike the last 3 budgets. The entire focus was on agriculture and infrastructure industry while there was no major takeaway for the apparel industry.
With special thrust on the social sector, this year's budget has ensured that India will be clocking a healthy growth rate. We are happy that finance minister has given a boost to infrastructure spends and to the MSME sector. The MSME sector is the backbone of our economy and this boost will ensure higher production and consumption.
With focus on technology, the finance minister has provided great support to the digital industry. The government’s decision to create 500,000 wi-fi hotspots in rural India will enable broadband access to those with no or little access to the realm of the internet. This will help in the growth of the digital commerce industry and encourage more people to adopt cashless economy.
Union Budget 2018-19 has prioritised farmers. It has incorporated provisions for capacity building for women with a lot of positivity spelt out for the middle class and senior citizens. For textiles however, while there is an allocation of Rs 7,148 crore, not much has been said about concrete correctional measures to boost India’s export competitiveness or policies favouring a revival of textile SEZs.
Published on: 03/02/2018
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
