Measures on Farm, Education & Infrastructure in Budget 2020 Welcomed by NRI Businessmen

Dubai: Gulf-based NRI businessmen on Saturday welcomed the initiatives related to agriculture, education and infrastructure announced by India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her fiscal 2020-21 budget speech, calling it promising and a move to secure the country's future.

Yusuffali MA, the Chairman of Lulu Group International, said the stress on agriculture and education makes it a promising budget.

"Especially the 16-point action plan to boost agriculture sector and allowing FDI in education sector is surely going to secure the future of India," he said.

According to Yusuffali, the finance minister was right in saying that entrepreneurship is the strength of India.

"The establishment of seed funds to boost early stage start-ups and setting up of investment clearance & advisory cell are very welcome steps and will boost investments into India," he said.

He also said that the removal of Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) by companies is a major step towards attracting investments.

"I take this as the biggest take away from this first budget of the decade," Yusuffali said.

Promoth Manghat, the Group CEO of Finablr, said the 2020 budget demonstrates the resolve of the government to spur growth in the backdrop of the lowest rate of expansion in over a decade.

"The initiatives announced are clearly aimed at reviving consumption expenditure and investment growth while taking a pragmatic view to fiscal deficit targets," he said.

According to Manghat, the continued rationalisation of personal income tax slabs, the sops announced for the rural and agriculture sectors and the aggressive push on infrastructure spending are steps in the right direction in line with the expansionary policy needed to stimulate growth.

On start-ups and digital payments, Manghat said that for the large part, the 2020 Union budget build on the Digital India programme and the proposed app-based invoice financing platform for MSMEs is a boost for the digital payments sector.

While the start-up sector finds support with the new investment clearance and advisory cell and seed fund that seeks to support early stage start-ups, the ambiguity around Angel tax continues to prevail, he said.

Kamal Vachani, the Regional Director of Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) and Group Director, Al Maya Group, said that the announcement of new project to improve electronic production will increase the domestic production of electronics and IT industry and boost the economy.

The government's plan to encourage the manufacture of mobile phones, electronic equipment and semiconductor manufacturing as well as medical devices is a positive step for the Indian companies which will be a boost to electronics exports, Vachani said.

According to him, income tax rate cut to 10 per cent from 20 per cent for individuals having income between Rs 5 lakh to 7.5 lakh gives relief to medium income people to save more.

He also welcomed the reduction of corporate tax, five years tax free for new start-ups, and scrapping of DDT.

Vachani said that huge allocation for agricultural sector will benefit the farmers and generate millions of new jobs in the rural sector, which will boost the agricultural economy in a big way.

"Agri exports will get a big boost with this incentive offered by Government of India during the budget," he said.