Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Meets Trade and Services Leaders for Budget 2024-25 Suggestions
New Delhi [India], June 25: Union Finance Minister and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman chaired a meeting with representatives of trade and services to gather suggestions for the upcoming General Budget 2024-25.
Key Suggestions from Industry Leaders
During the meeting, industry representatives shared their ideas on various topics:
- R&D Support: Ashwini Kumar, President of FIEO, called for greater government support for research and development to boost exports. He suggested increasing fiscal support under Section 35 (2AB) of the Income Tax Act.
- Ease of Doing Business: Ashish Aggarwal, Head of Public Policy at NASSCOM, emphasized the need to enhance ease of doing business to facilitate service sector exports. He also suggested reviewing the safe harbour regime and investing in deep tech startups.
- Job Creation: Brij Bhushan Agarwal, VP of Indian Chambers of Commerce, highlighted the importance of creating jobs through the ‘Made in India’ initiatives and developing additional R&D centers.
- Chinese Market Dumping: Ajay Sardana, President & Head of Petchem Industry Affairs at Reliance Industries, raised concerns about Chinese dumping in Indian markets and requested a review of tariffs on China to boost domestic capacity.
Other Attendees
Other prominent industry leaders who attended the meeting included Parminder Singh Kakaria, Head Corporate Affairs at Wipro, Debjani Ghosh, President of NASSCOM, and Ashwini Kumar, President of FIEO.
Upcoming Budget Presentation
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the Union budget for 2024-25 in the third week of July. This will be her seventh budget presentation, setting a record for the BJP-led Union government.
