Ludhiana (Punjab): Businessmen in Ludhiana, the industrial town of Punjab, are of the view that though the Budget is not beneficial from the industrial point of view, it has all the shades of a typical Interim Budget.
Several businessmen from Ludhiana hailed the interest-free loans that were announced to encourage tourism in all states.They, however, said they were not very optimistic about the Interim Budget and opined that the FM's speech largely contained information about the government's achievements during its last 10-year tenure. The business community, however, is disappointed over the fact that no change has been made in the tax slab.
Industrialists said the Budget was not specific to the business tone demanding subsidies in steel prices. Besides, there was a demand to increase the import duty as well. Industrialists also complained that no special proposals were made in the budget for the MSME sector. However, they pointed out that loans were waived to street vendors.
In the Interim Budget 2024-25, Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman announced that new medical colleges would be established and a scheme would be launched to connect one crore houses with solar panels. To strengthen the educational sector, Rs 22 lakh crore has been allocated for education and currency loans.
A sum of Rs 3 crore would be allotted to build houses in the rural sector, the FM added. The budget has also emphasised improving the infrastructure assuring 517 new air routes.
The budget announced a hike in Electronic Vehicle charging stations. The FM in the budget proposed to provide interest-free loans worth Rs 1 crores for up to 15 years for the new RND.
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