Budget 2019: FM Nirmala Sitharaman holds meeting with infrastructure, climate change stakeholders

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman held pre-Budget meetings with the stakeholders of the infrastructure and climate change sectors on June 13.

The areas of discussion included issues relating to bringing in more capital to the infrastructure sector for highways, railways, telecom, and automobiles. This included creating incentives for electric vehicles as well as for renewable energy for the green sector.

Suggestions from stakeholders included containing the rising cost of infrastructure projects, the rationalisation of various levies in the infrastructure sector, and the introduction of tax-free bonds to boost investment, among others.

To overcome the stress that the automobile sector is going through, its representatives sought some relief from the government.

"The auto sector has made significant investments for the long-term, but there has been an increase in regulatory costs. We have sought for a GST rate cut on the auto sector from 28 percent to 18 percent. The current liquidity conditions are tight, and there is a need for liquidity for funding," said Rajan Wadhera, president of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Chairman NN Sinha said that the road ministry has asked for Rs 37,000 crores for budget 2019-20.

The meeting was attended by Anurag Thakur, Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Subhash C Garg, Finance Secretary, and Girish Chandra Murmu, among others.

Representatives from the infrastructure and climate change sector included Sanjeev Kumar Lohia, MD and CEO, Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation, Praveen Kumar, Additional CMD, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), and Mahendra Singhi, President, Cement Manufactures’ Association, among others.