IndiaRetailBiz

Kishore Biyani, Group CEO, Future Group, according to a Business Standard report, is not wholly satisfied with the budget exercise of P. Chidambaram the Union Finance Minister, who presented his 2008-09 budget to the nation on Friday the 29th February, 2008.

The Finance Minister in his announcements has not only written off over Rs 60,000 crore ($15 billion) in rural loans, but has also given fillip to urban consumption by offering over Rs 20,000 crore ($5 billion) in tax concessions to individual tax payers and providing concessions on CENVAT, central sales tax as well as excise duty.

As our country is going through an unprecedented phase of growth, this was the time, according to Biyani, to make long-term decisions on how to sustain this rate of growth. And surprisingly enough, this Budget does little about envisioning a long-term growth plan for the economy and for various industries.

While immediate benefits are clearly visible in the Budget, one finds it hard to find long-term measures for new economy businesses that were gaining momentum, says the report.