Flagship programmes should be taken to next level: Chaudhari

Pune: A day prior to the annual budget, MCCIA President and Director General spoke to Sakal Times and shared that they are optimistically looking forward to the budget and the flagship initiatives like Make In India and Digital India should be taken to the next level. Pramod Chaudhari, President, MCCIA, told Sakal Times, "We hope there would be reforms and policy development in the core sectors such as manufacturing, infrastructure and new project development." 

Chaudhari added that the manufacturing sector needs to be strengthened and become more export-oriented. He further added that, for this, adequate policies and reforms should be proposed in the budget. He said, "With the manufacturing sector receiving a boost, it is imperative that the proposed skill development initiatives to generate skilled manpower are further strengthened. This skilled labour can be directly absorbed by the industries and this will generate employment as well increase the productivity of the manufacturing units. We hope that enough funds are dedicated to supporting skill development initiatives and existing institutions." 

He further added that the flagship programmes proposed by the government like the Make in India, Digital India should be taken to the next level. He expressed hope that the policy measures and enhanced budget should be announced to strengthen the initiatives. He added that strengthening the infrastructure facilities around the manufacturing base is equally important. Alternative sources of energy such as solar power and bio-fuels, which is available at competitive prices, must be given impetus in policy measures.”

Anant Sardeshmukh, Director General, MCCIA, while sharing his views with Sakal Times, said that to achieve the objective of about 7.5 per cent growth in GDP, inclusive development with major investments is necessary so it is almost certain that the budget for the financial year 2018-19 would once again be heavily tilted towards rural, urban and infrastructure development.

Sardeshmukh added that Smart City is one such urban infrastructure development programme, which is a necessity and offers very appropriate avenue for the government to deploy funds for productive purposes. He added that the budget should provide further allocations for Smart Cities such as Pune which is not only an important industrial hub but also possess a substantial potential for attracting investment, both domestic as well as international. The Smart City project of Pune has many facets, which are multiple objective serving. He added that a case in point is the novel, Incubation Factory, which is being created by the Pune Municipal Corporation. This not only helps develop entrepreneurship but will also make Pune, a leading centre for startups. The budget considering the merit of such proposals within Smart City proposals should provide special appreciative funding.“