Union Budget 2022: Trade association and advocacy group, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) today shared its expectations from the impending Union Budget and pushed for greater support for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as they were hit by the Covid pandemic, stating that they are “clearly the job-creating machine of economy." The industry body also insisted on a Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) outlaw and similar scheme for the urban poor.
Subhrakant Panda, Senior VP FICCI, told ANI, “we're expecting a higher MGNREGA outlaw & a similar scheme for urban poor.
It is very important to provide support to MSMEs, which have been affected by pandemic & are clearly the job-creating machine of economy." Additionally, industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Sunday also recommended that the outlay for MGNREGA be enhanced considerably to support the rural poor hit by the pandemic in the rural areas.
CII suggested this would also encourage consumption growth. It also suggested that Section 80JJAA of the Income Tax Act which provides for benefits for new workers with less than a threshold income of wages of ₹25,000 per month should enhance the limit to encourage higher skilled jobs creation.