the goan I network
PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday welcomed the budget presented in parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying it draws the contours for building the ‘New India’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dreams.
“The budget is for new India formation and aims to fulfill every section’s aspirations. It is for the poorest of the poor and the last man in society,” Sawant said, adding that he hoped that one of the 17 ‘iconic tourism sites’ proposed in the budget will be Goa.
Sawant also said that the budget presented by Sitharaman does not mention specific proposals for any State but Goa will have to work on cornering maximum funds from the Centre under existing central schemes and allocations under them.
“In the meeting I had with the IAS officers I have instructed them to specifically work on securing maximum funds from the Centre under existing schemes,” Sawant said.
Meanwhile, trade and industry leaders in Goa also praised Sitharaman’s budget speech, saying the thrust given to creating infrastructure by setting aside Rs 100 lakh crore for it in the next five years will boost the economy and generate employment.
Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Manoj Caculo said Goa’s cashew industry will benefit from the move to hike duties for import of kernel. “It will boost the
local cashew industry,” Caculo said.
The GCCI chief also praised the move to introduce public private partnership (PPP) model in the railways sector. “There is big incentive for electric vehicle manufacturers and also for buyers in the form of rebate on interest,” Caculo said, adding that subsidy to manufacturers and also cutting down the rates of custom duty on imported parts of e-vehicles will help.
