Budget will accelerate pace of investments in India, says Piyush Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said that the Union Budget 2020-21 will accelerate the pace of investments in India and added there is positivity among business groups to invest in the country.

"Interactions with different business groups in Davos or in the Ministry of Industries were all positive. There was so much positivity and they see India as the only country with the potential for a larger investment. I see positivity everywhere and people want to invest in India. Small and medium enterprises, as well as exporters, are positive," Goyal told .

"After the budget today, their liquidity will improve. After the abolition of the Dividend Distribution Tax, the possibility of compes giving more dividends will increase. Investors will get benefit from this. Sitharaman presented a good budget to increase investments," he said.

The minister said that the budget is "very balanced" and it prepares India to become a USD 5 trillion economy.

"I think this is a very balanced budget which prepares India for the decade ahead of us, prepares India to be a $5 trillion economy and covers a very vast canvas on the social side of economic development. It ensures that we continue to remain an economic powerhouse, continue to keep our macroeconomic indicators very much under control," Goyal told when asked about the big takeaway from this budget.

"It is not a populist budget but people-centric. It benefits wealth creators, business and exporters," he said.

Speaking on the proposal to disinvest a part of government holding in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) by way of IPO, the minister said: "If a small part of LIC goes to the public it will increase transparency and accountability, after all it is public's property, I don't think there is any harm if a small part of it is with the people."

The minister that there are provisions given in the budget to encourage start-ups and appropriate exemptions have been given in Income Tax.

When asked about raising the turnover threshold for audit of MSME accounts to Rs 5 crore, Goyal said: "We have tried to make the Indian economy strong. Small businesses are the backbone of the Indian economy. They bring investments and generate more employment opportunities. We have made the GST process easier. Several steps have been taken to benefit small businesses."

He said that the government is emphasising on cleanliness at railway stations and inside trains, passenger safety and dedicated freight corridor.

150 new trains will come up that will run on public-private partnership, the railways minister added.

Responding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the budget, the minister said: "Rahul Gandhi did not seem very enthused with the budget, if he has any issue-based questions I can answer them but if he only wants to use adjectives, I am seeing 10 times better adjectives that are positive on the television." Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi had said that the main issue is unemployment and its hasn't been addressed.

Speaking about the market response on the Budget, Union Minister said, "There are some sectors in markets which carry high weightage... As soon as the market understands the budget, the market will become good."

Earlier in the day, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented Union Budget for 2020-21, which proposes to give the Indian economy an impetus to emerge as more vibrant and stronger.

With an emphasis on capacity building and empowerment of marginalised sections of society including farmers, the Union Budget intends to ensure, as said by Sitharaman, that "our people should be gainfully employed. Our businesses should be healthy. For all minorities, women and people from SCs and STs, this Budget aims to fulfill their aspirations."

( With inputs from ANI )