NEW DELHI, FEB 1   :    Terming the interim Budget 2024 as prudent and substantive, industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) President R Dinesh on Thursday said that the government has continued focus on balancing growth with fiscal prudence.

“The government has done better than what it had projected on the fiscal front, achieving a fiscal deficit of 5.8 % of GDP for FY24 as against the budgeted number of 5.9% of GDP,” he said.

“The consolidation for FY25 at 5.1% of GDP is much higher than what was expected and is very assuring that India is on the path to achieving 4.5% fiscal deficit by FY26,” Dinesh further said.

The CII chief stated that emphasis on state level reforms is very welcome as these are crucial to take the Indian economy towards the goal of becoming a developed nation.

“Thrust on strengthening the ecosystem for electric vehicles by supporting manufacturing and EV charging infrastructure, building of metros are welcome. Focus on MSMEs by facilitating credit, technology adoption and a supporting regulatory framework will help create jobs, and also help in achieving India’s goal of becoming a global manufacturing hub,” he said.

In his comments on the interim Budget, PHDCCI President Sanjeev Agrawal stated that improved fiscal deficit will attract the attention of foreign investors and attract large volumes of foreign direct investment.

“The continued CAPEX push with an increase of 11.1% to the level of Rs 11.11 lakh crore will further support aggregate demand in the country and create jobs,” he said.

Resisting temptation for populist measures ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday continued government focus on capex to boost economic growth and retained prevailing rates for direct taxes and indirect taxes.(UNI)