Following the announcement of Union Budget 2024-25 by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, CII - Coimbatore chapter convened a press conference to give its first impressions on the announcements.

Chairman of CII - Coimbatore Chapter, G. Radhakrishnan said that this budget is an all-round budget and a very positive one. It has covered all areas and will help the nation to have continued growth.

He welcomed the allocations for agriculture (1.52 lakh crore), employment & skilling, urban & infra development, Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs, and shared that this budget encompasses all aspects of economic growth.

Talking about specific announcements that can benefit Coimbatore he said, that the import duty on ferrous scrap is made zero, and this will definitely create a better scenario in terms of raw material availability. MSMEs especially the foundries that depend on iron & steel.

Similarly, import duty on copper scrap is also reduced. It is hoped that this will reduce copper price in the market. The import duty on gold also has been reduced now. This will create a strong impact on the gold industry.

The Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) announced by the government is an advantage for MSMEs as they can avail collateral-free loan for capital expenditure. Around, Rs.1.4 lakh crore has been allocated for employment generation. This was also welcomed by CII.

Representatives of CII's youth wing, Young Indians - Coimbatore Vishnu Prabhakar and Niel Kikani also called this budget a positive one.

Niel said that the Finance Minister has mentioned in the budget that the government will launch a scheme to provide internship opportunities for the youth in top 500 companies of India, in the budget. This scheme will be implemented over the next five years and is expected to benefit 1 crore youth. This is a great move by the Indian Government.

The startup sector will celebrate the abolition of Angel tax, he said. A major push has been given to women lead initiatives also.

(More on this soon)