Assocham welcomes FM Sitharaman's steps to revive growth

In a statement, ASSOCHAM President BK Goenka said, ''It is very clear that Government is concerned with current economic situation. Hon'ble Finance Minister has responded very positively. The assurance of further tranches of measures coming in following weeks indicates that building the stimulus is work in progress. Industry will respond very enthusiastically to these praiseworthy moves.''

Goenka further said,''The decision on roll back of surcharge on FPIs, upfront capital infusion of Rs 70,000 crore into public sector banks and fiscal sops along with policy clarity on the automobile sector would restore confidence of investor as also consumer.''

''The assertion by the Finance Minister that the tax department would not follow any over-arching approach in the spirit of a call given by Hon'ble Prime Minister to respect the wealth creators would go down really well with the industry and global investors,'' the ASSOCHAM President said.

Goenka said it goes to credit of the government that despite fiscal constraints, it is front-loading capital infusion of Rs 70,000 crore into the state-owned banks, enabling them with additional liquidity of Rs 5 lakh crore. Besides, the measures for Non-Banking Financial Companies vis-a-vis banks should restore confidence among the financial markets. Higher depreciation for all types of vehicles to 30 per cent along with removing confusion on registration of BS-IV vehicles would be a major relief for the automobile companies. The assurance on the scrappage policy would also help, Goenka said.

He said the Finance Minister has given big relief to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, assuring them faster clearance of as much as Rs 64,000 crore pending with the government departments and the central public sector enterprises. Besides, the decision on non-discretionary powers to the banks for one -time settlement would provide a big relief to the sector. The industry would look forward to the promise of a single definition of an MSME.

Other measures which are re-assuring include exempting the Start-Ups from the so-called angel tax and clearance of GST refunds within 30 days, while all future refund claims would be cleared in 60 days. “These measures would certainly improve liquidity in the hands of MSMEs,” the ASSOCHAM President said.

Goenka also said the Finance Minister’s assurance that any violation of the Corporate Social Responsibility laws and rules would not be treated a criminal violation, is laudable and would allay concerns.

''Another significant takeaway is that much -needed resolutions on stalled residential projects which are causing concern among the home buyers and adversely impacting the real estate industry, are in the works,'' he said.