Textile Industry disappointed with budget as it was expecting duty reduction on imported raw cotton and polyester fiber : MP Arora
Ludhiana, 23 July 2024 : Today’s Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, has continued the streak of ignoring the Health Sector, that too just in two years of dealing with a pandemic, as no significant rise in budgetary allocation for MOHFW can be noticed.
This has been stated by MP (Rajya Sabha) from Ludhiana Sanjeev Arora while reacting over the budget. In a statement here on Tuesday, he added that moreover, last year’s budgetary allocation stands underutilized as per the revised estimates tabled on the floor of Parliament which conveys the attitude of this government towards the health sector. He said budgetary allocation to the health sector for the FY23-24 was for Rs.38,774 Crores and the revised estimates was for about Rs.36,742 Crores. He pointed out that at least the government should ensure that the funds are not underutilized.
He added global average of Healthcare Expenditure as a percentage of GDP hovers between 8-12%, while we spend less than 2%, which is also less than the government’s promise of 2.5%. Arora said Textile Industry was expecting duty reduction on imported raw cotton and polyester fiber, which has not been done in the budget, resulting to which the textile industry is seen unhappy. He added despite a huge demand by the industry the government has ignored the request completely, which seems not good for overall growth and development of the industry.
Further, minimum import rate for all HSN codes for Chinese fabrics have not been acceded to. The ailing Textile Industry did not get any reprieve, staring at a lot of unemployment and accounts going NPA. He added tax payers are also disappointed as they were looking for much more from Budget.
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