- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE chief of US-India Business Council (USIBC) has lauded the 2022-23 budget of the Narendra Modi government which was presented by Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying it showed the country’s continued commitment to enhancing productivity, creating employment and capitalising on nine per cent projected growth to integrate into global value chains.
“USIBC congratulates the finance minister and the Government of India on today’s Union Budget announcement. Overall, the initiatives show India’s continued commitment to enhancing productivity, creating jobs, and capitalizing on nine per cent projected growth to integrate into global value chains. Critically, to achieve these goals, the budget embraces efficient tools and vital outcomes like increasing the use of digital technology, mobilizing private capital and climate-sensitive development,” Atul Keshap, president of the USIBC and a former American diplomat who headed the US embassy in New Delhi as Charge d’Affaires, said.
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He also said that a 35 per cent increase in capital expenditure is a significant step forward, especially after the substantial increase in the prior budget.
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“The commitment to a rapid rollout and supportive ecosystem for 5G technology is also notable. The key will be to translate these initiatives into accelerated infrastructure development on the ground that speeds up travel, lowers logistics costs and broadens digital access by attracting private investment,” Keshap added.
“The budget embraces digital technologies to advance key goals like financial access, quality health care, enhanced educational and skilling opportunities, and higher agricultural output. The government can only maximise returns from these initiatives if it creates a level playing field for competition among firms who supply key inputs, be they digital payment providers or life sciences companies,” the USIBC chief said.
Keshap said the private investment will continue to be a key driver of growth under the latest budget, adding that efforts to ease doing business like reducing the time to set up a business, eliminating thousands of compliance requirements and making land management more efficient will help in achieving the goal.
“The acknowledgement of the role that venture capital and private equity play in flowing quality investment into new enterprises and job growth is critical, as is the commitment to enhance the ecosystem for these firms’ operations,” he said.
“Integrating into global value chains is a delicate balance between increasing competitiveness of domestic industry and opening the economy to trade. Building 100 new cargo terminals will make it easier and less costly for manufacturing inputs to enter the country. The increase in the PLI scheme for solar manufacturing is also a step in the right direction,” Keshap said.
