The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has welcomed the Budget 2013-14, and has described it as growth and investment oriented. Commenting on the Budget, Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, pointed out that while addressing fiscal consolidation, the Budget focuses on inclusive and sustained human development. Commendable initiatives have been taken in critical sectors such as agriculture, investment in manufacturing and infrastructure, MSME growth and capital market development among others, he added. CII lauds the announcement of 15% investment allowance to kickstart capital formation. CII particularly welcomes the enhanced outlay on education, healthcare and skill development with a view to increasing opportunities for the youth.

Reacting to the measures Budget proposals, Mr Deep Kapuria, Chairman, CII National Committee on MSME, and Chairman, Hi-Tech Gears Limited, said the Finance Minister had "done a commendable job for the SMEs - while on one end he has given support to the Start-ups/First Generation Entrepreneurs through listing on SME Exchanges without an IPO and encouraging the establishment of Incubators, however, on the other hand he has extended the preferential benefits for the SMEs for 3 years, after they outgrow the MSME category. " Further, he expressed hope that measures like allocating funds to SIDBI for Refinancing, for encouraging  R & D and for setting-up of a Factoring fund would provide respite to SMEs from the issue  of Delayed Payments.

According to Vinayak Chatterjee, Chairman, CII National Task Force on Infrastructure Projects - Monitoring and Advocacy & Chairman, Feedback Infrastructure Services Pvt. Ltd, the major 'breakthrough idea' on the policy front was the Independent Regulator for the roads sector. Further, the extension of the sunset clause on tax holiday to power sector investments by 1 more year was welcome, though not sufficient, he added.

Malvinder Mohan Singh, Chairman, CII (NR), and Executive Chairman, Fortis Healthcare Limited, said, "There is something for all sectors. In the final analysis, the budget does a good balancing act by containing the fiscal deficit to 4.8% and provides what the country needs at the current juncture."