Auto industry not happy with Interim Budget

Dilip Chenoy, Director General, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM)
“If you look at it from the point of view of an Interim Budget and what was expected, then perhaps it is not meeting the expectations that were created in the minds of people in the corporate sector and also in a lot of sectoral groupings, because the expectation was that the Interim Budget could be used to announce a series of measures that will further act as a fillip to the economy. But what has happened is that they have looked at increasing infrastructure spending etc. But the two key issues, which are impacting the growth of the automobile sector, which are the availability of finance coupled with repossession loans are not budget items. They will be handled outside the budget. Yes, you could have addressed some excise duty anomalies, but the government has chosen not to do it.” 

Venu Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director, TVS Motor Company
“The government has followed the electoral guidelines of not announcing policy projects, preceding the election. At the same time the government has continued the support given for exporters, social sector and for the subsidies to be maintained. As an industry, we are not particularly disappointed.”

S Sandilya, Chairman, Eicher Group
“The problem is of implementing whatever has been committed, which is invariably lacking. Had it been a regular budget, there would obviously be lots of expectations, for example, there could be some relief on personal taxation. But I do not expect it now.”