Srinagar, Feb 01: PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry Kashmir Region Chairman Vicky Shaw on Wednesday hailed the PM Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman scheme announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, saying the artisans of Kashmir will “hugely benefit” from it.
Welcoming the Union Budget 2023-24 with the allocation of Rs 35,581 crore for J&K presented by Finance Minister on Wednesday, Shaw also hailed the initiatives taken for MSMEs, especially the artisan community. He said Kashmir has earned appreciation from all across the world for its richness in culture, heritage and art. Since time immemorial, craftsmanship and artistry have been a source of livelihood in Kashmir and we believe the announcement of PM Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman scheme will enable the artisans of Kashmir to improve the quality, scale and reach of their products by integrating them with the MSME value chain, he said.
“We are pleased to see the substantial 33% hike in the capex outlay at Rs 10 lakh crore which is the highest-ever amount of all budgets,” Shaw said. He welcomed the multiple measures that he said will build the confidence of the industry. “These include the announcement of tax exemption up to Rs 7 lakh, promotion of tourism in mission mode under PPP and selection of 50 destinations through challenge mode that will be developed as complete package, Agriculture Accelerator Fund, Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture, natural farming, target funding for animal-dairy–fisheries, physical libraries at Panchayat and ward levels, setup of unity malls for promotion of ODOP,” he said.
As expected, the government has in its budget for 2023-24 reiterated its commitment to improving a lot of the rural economy by announcing schemes to promote the welfare of farmers, higher income for farmers and also focusing on farm and non-farm employment, Shaw said.
He, however, said that the people of J&K would have loved it if there were some provisions on the existing industry of the Union Territory. “We would have loved to have some provisions on the existing industry in the budget,” he said, adding, “The impact of Covid and other disturbances can be seen on the existing Industry of this region that has turned sick. Now, we are expecting that the J&K Budget will address the soaring issues of the existing industry of J&K.”
