Budget does little to aid industrial recovery
'The single measure which can be considered as a sop to industry, albeit a retrograde one, is the eight per cent increase in customs duties on import of most non-capital-goods industries,' writes the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy.

'Budget is not very strong on swadeshi'
'What is disappointing is that nothing has been done for the automobile sector. The same can be said about the capital goods industry.' Vinod L Doshi, chairman, the Premier Automobiles Limited, analyses the Budget.

'The policy on PSU disinvestment is the most striking feature of the Budget'
Larsen and Toubro director Y K Deosthale feels that since the government has given Indian industry time to face the competition, it should utilise this opportunity to substantially increase its presence in the global scene at the earliest.

An inflationary Budget which will not encourage consumer spending
Businesswoman Kiran Majumdar Shaw feels it is a disappointing Budget which really does not promise to "kick-start" the economy or, for that matter, infuse investor confidence as is evidenced by the drop in the stock market.

'It is a very supportive Budget'
Captains of industry have warmly welcomed the Budget and its provisions.

'Indian industry must be made to face global competition'
Rajesh Shah, CII president, hails the Budget which creates conditions for capital expenditure for infrastructure sector.

'Indian industry must be made to face global competition'
Rajesh Shah, CII president, hails the Budget which creates conditions for capital expenditure for infrastructure sector.

'It is a very supportive Budget'
Captains of industry have warmly welcomed the Budget and its provisions.

Sell the public sector units to raise revenue: Rahul Bajaj
'You cannot cut subsidies because it is politically expensive, you cannot increase fiscal deficit, you cannot allow inflation to go up. So the only way to raise revenue, of up to Rs 200 billion, is to sell the PSU. Then you can increase expenditure to revive the economy.'

'I hope economics will be back on BJP's agenda soon'
'There is a certain level of growth in the economy -- whether you have an active government or an inactive government. I have no reasons to believe that the level will go down now. But the issue is how that level can be nudged into 6.5 or 7 per cent,'' says Ashok Leyland Limited Managing Director R Seshasayee, seeking the government's support -- not protection -- for the Indian industry, in this pre-Budget interview.

Assocham calls for retention of direct tax slabs
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry has opposed any move to introduce higher slabs and surcharges for the 'super rich'.

'My concern is not inflation or the fiscal deficit, it is getting into a positive growth cycle'
Madhur Bajaj, president of Bajaj Auto Ltd, feels that the forthcoming Budget must focus on reviving the economy by increasing expenditure on infrastructure.

Incentives to bring infrastructure boom
Serious thought is being given to the introduction of a modified Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme. This is expected to increase the flow into the infrastructure sector as no questions would be asked about the source of income, like in the earlier VDIS introduced by then finance minister P Chidambaram. The scheme had netted Rs 100.50 billion.

'The nuclear explosions give the impression of a stable government'
This might be the best chance for the BJP government to go ahead and take some tough decisions in the forthcoming Budget to help the country become an economic superpower, says R C Bhargava, former managing director of Maruti Udyog Ltd.

Budget to level playing field for Indian industry
The government hopes to achieve this by correcting existing anomalies in duties, and include provisions for deferred duty payment for specificied companies (subject of course to revenue safeguards), besides an overhaul of the anti-evasion machinery.