Corporate surcharge a dampener: Glenn Saldanha

Though we remain on a sticky wicket, his effort has been to try and get us back to the 6% plus GDP growth. While the direction seems right, it still remains difficult for India to achieve 8% growth

The finance minister should be lauded for presenting a growth-oriented and balanced Budget, especially given the precarious state of the country's finances. The focus on rationalising expenditure has definitely helped in controlling the fiscal deficit. Though we still remain on a sticky wicket, his effort has been to try and get us back to the six per cent-plus GDP growth. While the direction seems right, it still remains difficult for India to achieve the high eight per cent GDP growth in the near future. India needs to grow at at least eight per cent continually to be able to make any significant impact on poverty statistics.

The Budget focuses on growth and addressing the nation's priorities of fiscal consolidation and improving the investment climate in the country. Measures such as easing of FII, de-marking of FII and FDI and incentives for capital investment of over Rs 100 crore, among others, will increase capital flows into the economy. Some of the other positive announcements are increased allocation in social schemes giving emphasis to infrastructure, which is good for the economy as a whole. The enhanced outlays on education, health care and skill development with a view to increasing opportunities for the youth are also welcome announcements.

At a time when the Indian industry is facing growth challenges, the move to raise corporate surcharge has come as a dampener.

For long, the Budget has been a non-event for the pharmaceutical sector in particular and the Budget 2013-14 is no exception. Hence, we were not surprised when there were no specific incentives announced for the sector.

Glenn Saldanha
Chairman and Managing Director, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals