“We asked the government to put regulations in place… because Trump was a big supporter of cryptocurrency. So I think we need to think about it and regulate it,” Jain told ET.
With US threats to impose higher tariffs on China, he said India benefited last time in sectors such as artificial marbles, whose exports increased.
Jain also said incentives under production-linked incentive schemes should be extended to more sectors such as handicrafts, gems and jewelry, and footwear, and AI should become an area of intervention to push Make in India further.
“Like Make in India, the United States is
saying Make in US and imposing prohibitive duties on countries that dump products across countries. The government must reconsider that duties on raw materials are lower than those on finished products,” he said.
Jain said the employment incentive scheme should be sector specific and to create more jobs, higher public spending by the government and sector specific economic zones should be considered. like China with an integrated one-stop shop.
The chamber pushed for a cut in the personal income tax tax rate and a change in the classification norm for NPA from 90 days to 180 days, especially for micro, small and medium businesses, in the next budget.
“Today, around 49 per cent of India’s exports go through MSMEs and we need to ensure that this continues to be an area of focus,” he said.
On the current global challenges and geopolitical uncertainty, Jain said: “It is a difficult time now. The last 20 years have been peaceful, but in the last 4-5 years the world has seen wars and uncertainties, especially regarding Bangladesh. We share economic ties with them. So it’s a matter of concern for us, both politically and economically.”
