Budget 2019-20 has set out a clear goal for the Government for the next 5 years to achieve US$ 5 trillion economy with high degree of equity by ensuring delivery of minimum services to every Indian including housing, sanitation, and water supply ,which will enhance ease of living, said Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary (Finance and Economic Affairs), Ministry of Finance.

He was interacting with industry leaders on Budget 2019-20 at a meeting organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi

The Budget also targets opening up Indian economy to private sector and global investors recognizing the fact that domestic industry and foreign investors would be the prime movers of growth in India with government playing a supportive role, Garg said.

Fiscal prudence and Government opting for external financing of deficit will help channelize more investible resources for the private sector. It is an opportune time for private sector to invest in infrastructure and the digital economy to spur growth, he added.

Atanu Chakraborty, Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, said that ownership and control of PSUs needs to be separated for creating more investment space and a larger float for international investors. Government has also expressed its intent to bring down the Government and Government controlled entities’ holding to below 51%.

Many more CPSEs, other than Air India, will be put on the block for strategic disinvestment. About 14 are already on the list. Minimum public share holding norms will be met by PSUs as applicable for any other company registered under Companies Act, he said.

Vinayak Chatterjee, Chairman, CII Economic Affairs Council and Chairman, Feedback Infrastructure, highlighted two pain points for Indian industry pertaining to declining consumption and delayed payments. He also mooted the idea of creation of delayed payments monitoring portal to address payments due to suppliers to the Government.

On the suggestion of developing a portal for monitoring delayed payments other than the one for MSMEs, Mr Garg said that Government would be open to work with industry to address the issue.

Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII said that Government has prioritised trust with industry which paves the way for a strong relationship between the two to build a New India.

Commending the Government on fiscal prudence, Banerjee stressed on the need for maintaining the quality of public spending to drive growth. He also added that Government should consider brownfield disinvestments and earmark the proceeds for public capex.