As another day of pre-budget discussions came to a close, farmer associations, agricultural economists and MSME industry bodies met with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday as part of a consultation process held with various industry stakeholders.
The morning session on Friday marked the fourth such meeting, which saw experts like MJ Khan, chairman of the Indian Chambers of Food and Agriculture, emphasise the need to lift export bans on items like wheat, rice, and sugar. "We need to avoid knee-jerk reactions and focus on creating export hubs," he told the media outside the Finance Ministry after the interaction.
Khan also sought to club all farmer subsidies and deliver them through the Direct Benefit Transfer system, increase budget allocation for the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, and also suggest that the government offer a higher subsidy on phosphorus, potash and bio-products.
Agricultural economist and professor at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, Ashok Gulati, highlighted the surplus in rice stocks held by the Food Corporation of India and pushed for easing rice exports as a priority, along with the need to lift the ban on onion exports.
MSMEs Need Lower Cost of Capital, Support Section 43B(h)
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. @nsitharaman chairs the fifth Pre-Budget Consultation with representatives from Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises #MSME to gather suggestions for the upcoming General Budget 2024-25, in New Delhi, today.
The #PreBudget… pic.twitter.com/nF8Iu6JXAmThe second session of the day with the medium, small and micro enterprises and their representatives saw some debate on the 45-day payment rule recently mandated by the ministry.
Ramesh Chandra Lahoti, president of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry, told NDTV Profit that they sought some relief for trading communities from the payment rule, particularly for sectors like textiles and grains.
They also sought some reconsideration of the mandated TCS payment requirement of 0.1% for sales above Rs 50 lakh.
Sandeep Kishore, president of FISME, said that they sought a reduction in bank lending rates to MSMEs to aid the process of capital acquisition.
Kishore, however, firmly backed the enforcement of the 45-day payment rule, adding that the move gives more "teeth" to an existing provision, referring to the MSME Act, 2006.
Sanjay Goenka of the Bihar Industries Association added that the broad topics included reducing the cost of capital for MSMEs, simplification of rules and the need for a single window for MSME-related licenses.
Goenka also raised the topic of state-specific incentives, which also reflects Bihar's current political stance on special category status.
On Saturday, the state finance ministers are expected to place their pre-budget recommendations to the Finance Minister in New Delhi, and that will be followed by the 53rd Goods and Services Tax Council Meeting.
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