Centre sets ambitious growth projection

Describing the Union Budget 2015-16 as growth-oriented, K Viyyanna Rao, Vice-Chancellor of Acharya Nagarjuna University, said the projections look ambitious in the backdrop of low investments in agriculture faced with stagnation.

Speaking at Budget Talk 2015 organised by The Hindu Business Line at Nalanda College, Viyyanna said the government would have to step up investment in agriculture and rural areas to achieve all-round development.

The manufacturing sector, whose contribution has come down from 18 per cent to 17 per cent, has to gather pace and infrastructure growth has to be accelerated, he said.

During the panel discussion, the Budget drew mixed reactions with some describing it as ambitious as it seeks to target a double-digit growth in a very short time.

MSVM Prasad, Additional Commissioner, Income Tax, said, “The Centre has laid special thrust on tackling black money and has come out with a series of measures such as encouraging use of credit and debt cards for payments. These measures will bear fruit over the next few years.”

He said the move to abolish wealth tax was a welcome step as it not only increases revenues but also frees up IT officials who often spend a number of mandays in addressing wealth tax issues without much returns. They could now concentrate on other aspects of IT.

N Sreedharan, Director of School of Planning, said the focus on Swatch Bharat, green initiatives, encouragement to renewable energy, cleaner cities and infrastructure would have big impact on the overall growth. The infrastructure sector has rightly been given a major thrust by the Finance Minister.

YV Krishnamohan, CEO of Surya Engineering, and part of CII, said the initiatives to shore up prospects of the MSMEs and creation of a new bank augured well. He felt the implementation of the GST by next year would have far reaching impact on rationalisation of the tax structure.

Management Consultant, M C Das said, “There has been a great accent on development of infrastructure sector with huge investment outlay. The innovative National Investment and Infrastructure Fund with an annual flow of ₹20,000 crore would accelerate the sector growth.”

Apart from sharp increase in outlays for roads and Railways, the capital expenditure of public sector units is poised to grow, he explained.

V Rishi Kumar, Deputy Chief of Bureau, Business Line , moderated the discussion while VV Raja Rao, Assistant Regional General Manager, The Hindu , Vijayawada, welcomed the gathering.