Ficci seeks more sops to bolster economy

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday sought more fiscal sops in the 2010-11 budget to prop up the economy.

In a pre-budget meeting with revenue secretary P V Bhide, a Ficci delegation asked the finance ministry to tread with caution on rolling back the stimulus measures taken to spur growth.

It suggested that the Reserve Bank of India should not restrain liquidity as it would hurt the economic recovery which is still at a nascent stage.

"While we are conscious of the problem of high fiscal deficit, we feel that the government can resume back to FRBM target.

Once again after the economy has recovered well from the ongoing crisis," Ficci president Harsh Pati Singhania told reporters.

The fiscal sops asked by Ficci include retaining the peak custom duty to 10 per cent, applying peak rate of personal income tax to an annual income of Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) in a year and raising income tax concessions for housing loans.