Budget has nothing specific for NRIs

Dubai: The federal Indian budget has ignored non-resident Indians (NRIs) by not offering them anything specific, prominent Indians in the UAE said on Friday.

But there was praise for Finance Minister P. Chid-ambaram for reducing excise duties and raising the personal income tax exemption limit.

The sops offered for various sections of the population were seen as pre-general election populism.

"Keeping the upcoming election in mind the finance minister has tried to please a huge spectrum of the population," Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC) president Abbas Ali Mirza said.

P. Krishna Murthy, chief executive of Financial Services Division of Al Rostamani Group, said the budget has made a "serious attempt" to stimulate consumption by reducing indirect taxes on consumer goods.

"The focus is also on the social sector as it addresses the needs of education, health, senior citizens, women and the middle class," Murthy said.

He criticised an increase of five per cent on short-term capital gains, saying it will make people hold investments in the medium term.

"The budget has more of political palliatives than economic incentives. As an election year budget one cannot expect otherwise," said Ashique Husain, managing director of Tanzeem International company.

Kamal Vachani, director of Almaya Group, said increasing the income tax bracket and reduction of excise duties would help the middle class.

The waiver of small farm loans was widely welcomed as a relief to the weaker section of the rural India.

However, the government drew criticism for not coming up with specific proposals for NRIs.

"The finance minister has totally forgotten the NRIs and possibly they have become 'not-required Indians'," said Sudesh Aggarwal, chairman of IBPC Sharjah.

"As an NRI, I am hopeful that the government will consider the plight of millions of NRIs, especially lower-income workers, and come up with specific schemes for their welfare," said Yousuf Ali, managing director of EMKE Group and a director of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

However, he noted that overall it was a "progressive and inclusive budget".

IBPC member N. Nagaraj said although the budget "in general is farmer-friendly and balanced", NRIs remain neglected despite their remittances bolstering the country's foreign currency reserves.

Paras Shahdadpuri, chairman of Nikag Group, was equally harsh in his remarks.

"For NRIs, the news is never encouraging [in a budget]. Again, there was no mention of NRI participation in the Indian economy. The government has successively failed to recognise the role of NRIs," he said.

Ram Buxani, executive vice-chairman of Cosmos Group, who has lived in the UAE for almost 49 years, was dismissive about the budget, saying. "It does not deserve so much analysis.

"Ignoring NRIs has been the culture" in the last few budgets, he said, and noted that the outlay for education was too low compared with the hike in defence funding.