"I think this is a very balanced budget,"Piyush Goyal said. (File)
Railways and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal today said that the 2020 budget will speed up the pace of investments in India and added that business groups are positive about investing in India.
"Interactions with different business groups in Davos were all positive. They see India as the only country with the potential for larger investment. I see positivity everywhere and people want to invest in India," Mr Goyal told news agencyt ANI.
"After the budget today, their liquidity will improve. After the abolition of the Dividend Distribution Tax, the possibility of companies giving more dividends will increase. Investors will get benefit from this,"he added.
Mr Goyal said that the budget will prepare India for $5 trillion economy target.
"I think this is a very balanced budget which prepares India for the decade ahead of us, prepares India to be a $5 trillion economy and covers a very vast canvas on the social side of economic development. It ensures that we continue to remain an economic powerhouse, continue to keep our macroeconomic indicators very much under control," Mr Goyal added.
"It is not a populist budget but people-centric. It benefits wealth creators, business and exporters," he said.
Speaking on the proposal to disinvest a part of government holding in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) by way of IPO, the minister said: "If a small part of LIC goes to the public it will increase transparency and accountability, after all it is public's property, I don''t think there is any harm if a small part of it is with the people."
The minister that there are provisions given in the budget to encourage start-ups and appropriate exemptions have been given in Income Tax.
When asked about raising the turnover threshold for audit of MSME accounts to Rs 5 crore, Mr Goyal said: "We have tried to make the Indian economy strong. Small businesses are the backbone of the Indian economy. They bring investments and generate more employment opportunities. We have made the GST process easier. Several steps have been taken to benefit small businesses."
Responding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the budget, Mr Goyal said, "Rahul Gandhi did not seem very enthused with the budget, if he has any issue-based questions I can answer them but if he only wants to use adjectives, I am seeing 10 times better adjectives that are positive on the television."