Hyderabad, February 24: The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) on Wednesday welcomed the budget as it proposed various developmental initiatives through public-private partnerships including large infrastructure projects such as seaports and airports.
Stating that the government’s skill development initiatives and rural employment schemes are people-friendly, Shakti Sagar, chairman of CII Andhra Pradesh said: “We are closely working with the government to support its skill development and rural employment initiatives. The Rajiv Udyogasri Society could provide training to about 15 lakh people, of which about 10 lakh could cater to the needs of the industry.”
He added that the industry body was partnering with the state government to achieve the goal to train 50 million youth by 2022. CII also commended the state’s efforts to pursue vital irrigation projects as national projects.
“We are happy to note that Rs 1,115.79 crore has been budgeted to develop infrastructure in Khammam district,” Sagar said.
Considering that the industrial demand for power is set to increase, CII welcomed the move to add an additional capacity of 1,033 MW within the next one year.
“We congratulate the government for the success of Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana,” he said.
CII also welcomed the government’s efforts to maintain fiscal prudence by reducing the fiscal deficit to 3.40 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), which is well below the limit of 4 per cent recommended by the government of India.
They also welcomed the State’s revenue growth projections at 20 per cent for the next financial year 20112012.
However, he expressed concern that about 63 per cent of the total expenditure is in the nonplanned expenditure, which is not a healthy sign in the long run.
“The budget’s focus on health, education, housing and other developmental initiatives of the government are most welcome. However, we would like to urge the government to provide greater attention to environment and climate change,” said Sagar.
–Agencies