It’s a very balanced budget and for the long-term. The finance minister has covered a wide spectrum of things, which were long overdue-like health and education. He has provided a lot for the rural sector, which will come back to the manufacturing industries.
For the tea sector, there was no scope to ask for anything. We wanted the social cost to be addressed, which has been pending for long. Social cost currently accounts for Rs 6-7 a kg, a part of which is wages, so the net effect is Rs 4 a kg. The amount involved is very small, around Rs 300 crore of budgetary support. The abolition of the fringe benefit tax will also do the industry a lot of good.
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