MAIT welcomes FM 2012 budget for focus on skill development

NEW DELHI, INDIA: MAIT, the apex body representing India’s ICTe hardware, training and R&D services sectors, has said Union Budget 2012-13 has enhanced focus on skills for national and industry development.

The industry body expressed satisfaction as it is a good move to enhance the enrollment of aadhar cards by another 40 crores as it will lead to financial inclusion through schemes like MNREGA, old age and other pensions and scholarships. Together with the planned fibre optic connectivity of gram panchayats, this will lead to more usage of consumer premise equipment’s and other handhelds.

It is a welcome move to use technology to cut down leakages in disbursements of subsidies in the form of mobile-based Fertiliser Management System whereby the subsidy is transferred to the retailer and finally to the farmer. This will lead to increased buying power of the rural areas. We welcome the excise duty reduction to 6 percent for LED lamps and fully exemption of SAD. Full exemption from basic customs duty and additional duty of customs to parts, components and sub-parts for manufacture of memory cards for mobile phones, and full exemption of basic customs duty on LCD and LED TV panels.

Sabyasachi Patra, executive director, MAIT, said: “MAIT welcomes the allocation of Rs. 1,000 crores for National Skill Devleopment Fund as that will help in bridging the gap in skills. Setting up a Credit Guarantee Fund to improve flow of institutional credit for skill development will also be a good move as it will help in acquiring specific skills by individuals.

Congratulating the Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, he said: “The FM has moved in the right direction in harnessing the power of technology to ensure direct transfer of subsidies to retailers and farmers thereby reducing leakages. In that regard, mFMS (mobile based Fertiliser Management System) is a great step. We also welcome the move towards direct transfer of subsidy for kerosene into bank accounts of beneficiaries. If successfully rolled out, it can help in reducing our fiscal deficit and is likely to increase the buying power and hence will have multiplier effect.”

Dr. Alok Bharadwaj welcomes the Finance minister's move on setting up a GST Network and said: "It is a good move that GST Network is being set up and operationalized by August 2012. We hope this is a harbinger of good news inform of a speedy GST implementation. This will have long term implications for India Inc. Higher allocation on UID is also a welcome development. The leaky bucket of the Indian economy must get fixed and the only way is UID."

Welcoming the budget announcement on manufacturing, Dr. Bharadwaj mentioned: "Intent of the government in making manufacturing as the main economic driver is music to our ears. As MAIT, we truly believe intent ultimately leads to ground transformations, but I have to say we don't have a luxury of time and policies and procedures have to be tweaked to make India a sought after destination for manufacturing nor merely one of many. There are many procedural corrections that Govt to undertake. Indian IT hardware industry is looking forward to those."