Vikram Kirloskar, SIAM President
Mr. Vikram Kirloskar, SIAM President, has welcomed the focused approach on infrastructure development and on simplified taxation in the Budget for 2014-15. In the current tight fiscal situation, the Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley, has tried to balance and manage the expectations from different quarters with a need for growth and fiscal prudence. The Budget has rightly given a positive direction on issues like implementation of GST, retrospective taxation as well as simplification of the tax regime. This will revive investor sentiment and kick-start growth and development in the medium to long term.
According to Mr. Kirloskar, the announcements of increase in FDI in Defence and insurance to 49 per cent would make these sectors competitive. Focus on infrastructure development through allocation of Rs. 14,389 crores for rural roads and Rs. 37,880 crores for National and State Highways, and development of 16 new port projects is also a welcome move which will boost growth of the automotive industry in the long run. Initial funding of Rs. 24 crores for the National Electric Mobility Mission plan through the Ministry of Heavy Industries will kick-start the electric and hybrid vehicle manufacturing in India.
One of the major issues confronted by the auto industry last year was the dispute related to valuation of goods under the Central Excise Act. SIAM had requested that this be addressed in Parliament, and the Budget has now come out with a notification for amending the definition for excise valuation. This will help the industry avoid a lot of litigation and disruption in business practices, he adds.
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Harish Lakshman, ACMA President
ACMA, the apex body representing India’s auto component sector, has welcomed the thrust given in the Union Budget on kick-starting the national economic growth and making it inclusive. The industry body has expressed satisfaction over the focus on infrastructure development, education and skilling with a view to attracting investments in these areas. Further, it also appreciated the measures announced for sustaining growth and scaling-up of the MSME sector.
Congratulating the Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley, Mr. Harish Lakshman, ACMA President, said: “We are glad that the Finance Minister has unveiled a pragmatic Budget with adequate focus on development of the social sector as well as that of the industry and infrastructure. ACMA also welcomes the announcement of the intent for implementation of GST and DTC at the earliest, as well as measures to encourage the Micro, Small and Medium sector (MSMEs), including revision of its definition. MSMEs constitute over 70 per cent of ACMA’s membership and scaling-up has been a challenge for the sector”.
Mr. Lakshman added that extending 15 per cent allowance to companies investing more than Rs. 25 crores in new plant and machinery will help attract investments in the manufacturing sector, including automotive.
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Mohan Himatsingka, FADA President
Commenting on the Union Budget 2014, Mr. Mohan Himatsingka, FADA President, said: “The Union Budget contains a number of proposals that will promote growth of the economy, including the auto sector. The fiscal deficit target of 4.1 per cent for FY15 and 3 per cent in two years, increase in cap on FDI in insurance and Defence, renewed thrust on the infrastructure sector, particularly the significant outlay for road infrastructure development, divestment of banks, and definite timeline for the GST roll-out are some of the positive highlights of the Budget.”
Raising the income-tax exemption limit in the case of individuals, deduction under Section 80C and for interest on housing loans in respect of self-occupied property by Rs. 50,000 each will leave more disposable income in the hands of individuals and catalyze demand for consumer durables, including motor vehicles. Benefits extended to the real estate & construction, energy and shipping sectors, as well as announcement of expeditious resolution of the current impasse in the mining sector will help revive demand for commercial vehicles.
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Dr. Pawan Goenka, Executive Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
A statement issued by Dr. Pawan Goenka, Executive Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said the Finance Minister has delivered a well-defined and prudent Budget with specific focus on infrastructure, manufacturing and rural schemes. To view it in the macro-economic perspective, it has laid clear emphasis on supporting investment. Though there are no big bang announcements, the intent of the Budget is clear. It is a move in the right direction, and there is an attempt to put a lot of placeholders through the various Rs. 100-crore schemes. In fact, this Budget is indeed a blueprint to the direction the Government will take over the next nine months.
Specific to the automotive industry, the extension on reduction of excise duty has already been notified. “We did expect an announcement on incentives for electric vehicles which did not come through. A firm date for GST implementation would have been welcome”, the statement added.
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Volvo Buses hails Budget proposals
Volvo Buses has welcomed the Union Budget for 2014-15, which has laid much emphasis on the future vision for cities in India, as well as the country as a whole. Volvo is committed to play its role in supporting modernisation of Indian cities by providing complete & sustainable transport solutions to make public transport an attractive option.
The Government has allocated Rs. 50,000 crores towards urban infrastructure projects that will help in creating sustainable cities. The Central proposal to set up Industrial Smart Cities in seven locations is another initiative that will help in developing planned residential cities, while possibly decongesting some of the larger cities.
It is hoped that when the detailing is done, there is focus on aspects of urban development such as electromobility and sustainable transport solutions such as BRTS and decongestion of cities. The focus on road safety with allocation of funds is a small step that will be essential in addressing the rising road incidents in India. Another key feature of the Budget proposals is the allocation of Rs. 37,800 crores towards development of better infrastructure, both for National and State Highways.
By way of other announcements in the Union Budget, the Government has articulated a vision of a stronger nation, socially and economically, in the years to come. Volvo Buses looks forward to steps that will pave the way for more robust and sustainable development of the country.
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Kenichiro Yomura, President, Nissan India Operations
Mr. Kenichiro Yomura, President, Nissan India Operations, has stated: “The Budget 2014 presented by the Finance Minister is based on fiscal prudence, with a progressive outlook. We appreciate his considerations and his aim to achieve 7-8% GDP in 3 to 4 years. Structural reforms, including FDI liberalization in Defence and insurance, initiatives to support local manufacturing and commitment to remove retrospective taxation are significant steps from a larger macro-economic perspective.”
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Anirudh Bhuwalka, Managing Director and CEO, AMW Motors Ltd.
Mr. Anirudh Bhuwalka, Managing Director and CEO, AMW Motors Ltd., said: “This is a very pragmatic Budget with the Finance Minister addressing several issues to invigorate growth related to housing, infrastructure, manufacturing and the finance sector. The increase in FDI limits on insurance and Defence, while expected, is a welcome step. The FM’s commitment to 4.5% fiscal deficit shows prudence. While the Budget is not “big bang” given the fact that he has had only six weeks, he has built in continuity as well as a new direction to spur growth. The execution will be critical, especially in the large number of areas where PPP is involved. However, overall, the Budget has given optimism that we are on track.”
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Ajay S. Shriram, CII President
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has welcomed and fully endorsed the Government of India’s move to raise the bar on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Defence sector as reflected in the President’s address to Parliament, according to Mr. Mr. Ajay S. Shriram, its President, in a press release.
FDI is directly linked with core national priorities such as raising manufacturing growth to 25% of GDP, significant job creation and bringing high-end technology into the country. The associated benefits are the spin-offs for the civilian market.
CII is very keen to see very high-tech and highly complex system integration work being done in India, and Indian industry is ready to take this challenge and opportunities. Opening up various sectors have helped Indian industry grow and become globally competitive.
India has witnessed a resurgence of its manufacturing sector over the last two decades on the backdrop of robust domestic demand and increasing private participation. Amongst the emerging economies, India’s manufacturing sector has established its name for better quality, design and innovation. The country has already made its mark in the automobile and automotive components sectors with a number of auto giants around the world sourcing from India. Further, the domestic heavy and light engineering sectors have come a long way with high end innovations and capabilities. The Indian automotive sector has also started leveraging Indian industry’s strengths in IT, high tech engineering and research and design capabilities.
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Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII
Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, has said that the Budget lays out medium-term vision for the economy and meets industry expectations on growth and employment. CII is happy to note the encouragement to manufacturing through various measures such as opening Defence, insurance and e-commerce sectors to FDI, correcting the inverted duty structure, setting up of industrial clusters and promoting entrepreneurship.
CII also welcomes the proposal to set up a Rs. 10,000-crore fund that will act as a catalyst to private capital by way of quasi-equity, soft loan and other risk capital for start-up companies.
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T.T. Ashok, Co-Chairman, CII National MSME Council
Mr. T.T. Ashok, Co-Chairman, CII National MSME Council, feels that the Finance Minister has duly recognized that SMEs form the backbone of the country’s industrial output and employment and has rightly underscored the importance of promoting entrepreneurship and start-up enterprises.
Mr. Ashok has welcomed the Budget proposal to set up a trade facilitation centre and a craft centre with a museum at an outlay of Rs. 50 crores to develop and promote handloom products. This is a welcome step for the development of micro enterprises in India and is going to help them showcase on a global scale. The Finance Minister also announced support for starting six textile mega clusters, in Bareilly, Lucknow, Surat, Bhagalpur, Mysore and Tamil Nadu, allocating Rs. 200 crores. This is a major thrust to the revival of MSMEs in the textile sector.
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Deepak Baid, Director, Siddhi Vinayak Logistics Ltd.
Mr. Deepak Baid, Director, Siddhi Vinayak Logistics Ltd., has stated that the Budget 2014 has garnered massive appreciation from various industries and, after a long time, the logistics and supply chain industry has had some fantastic news to look forward to. The infrastructure sector, invariably neglected during the past few years, should get some of its backlog cleared with positive reinforcements in this year’s Budget.
A Rs. 600 billion Budget allocation for direct infrastructure investment, SEZs, ports and subway projects, creating road and urban infrastructure is quite commendable, not missing the fact that the required areas imperative for development have been stressed upon.
He is happy that the proposed investment of Rs. 5,000 crores for the warehousing sector shows that the Government has shed light on the considerable need to upgrade scientific warehousing infrastructure in India.
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Vipin Sondhi, Managing Director & CEO, JCB India Ltd.
Mr. Vipin Sondhi, Managing Director & CEO, JCB India Ltd., in his Budget reaction, observed: “Given that this Government has been in office for less than 2 months, no big bang reforms were anticipated. The Government, recognizing the need for revival of investment cycle, had already extended the excise duty cut on capital goods for another 6 months in June 2014 itself. The Budget focus on the infrastructure sector, encouraging banks to lend long-term funds to the sector, extending the benefit of investment allowance to small and medium enterprises and the emphasis on manufacturing growth should help revive the capital goods sector. While PPP in relation to many new projects has been announced, a roadmap for execution of the existing held up projects could have helped turn things quickly.”
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C.S. Verma, SAIL Chairman
Mr. C.S. Verma, SAIL Chairman, has, in a press release, stated that the renewed focus on infrastructure, viz., development of smart cities, ports, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna, power plants, plan for doubling pipeline grid, metro for Tier-2 cities, industrial corridor, incentives for housing, and revival of SEZ, etc., will go a long way in further consolidating growth and giving fillip to the steel sector which has faced stagnant demand of late.
The increase in customs duty for stainless steel will provide the requisite protection at a time when demand has slackened. Other measures such as reduction in customs duty for steel grade limestone and dolomite as well as ships for breaking should also help the industry. However, the industry, particularly the integrated steel sector will be impacted by customs duty increase on coking coal to 2.5 per cent.
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Chella K. Srinivasan, National President, IACC
Mr. Chella K. Srinivasan, National President, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), has said that the Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley, has deftly handled a complex situation and addressed all sectors, more specifically the manufacturing segment. The Budget proposals can send positive signals across economy to help achieve an annual growth rate of 6 to 7 per cent.
Flag marking some of the big ticket proposals like increasing the cap of FDI in the Defence and insurance sectors, Mr. Srinivasan said: “These are part of a wish list which we have been taking up with the governments, and it is a good augury that the present Government under the able leadership of Mr. Narendra Modi has taken it to its logical end. We expect a lot of spin-off from these decisions.”
Mr. Srinivasan complimented the Finance Minister for the proactive Budget proposals for increasing the saving rate in the economy by enhancing the limit for saving under the PPF scheme and long-term investments, which will help channelize more investments.