" A progressive & balanced budget"

"The budget has enough proof points of India's integration to global markets. We are pleased to see that our growth indicators has also been reiterated in the Finance Minister's vision that the Indian IT industry would generate seven million jobs by 2009. We look forward keenly to see how the government develops the blueprint for the creation of the seven mega-cities in India as it is imperative that we vastly improve our infrastructure to be on the same lines as China. The proposed investments in education and infrastructure would augur well for the future competitive edge for the IT industry globally."

Suresh Vaswani, President, Technology Infrastructure Services and Interops, Wipro Technologies and President, Wipro Infotech.

" The Bharat Nirman program is in the right direction. The IT industry had a small list of demands and some of it has been met. Withholding Fees on Technical Services has been reduced to 10 percent from 20 percent and this should be extended to the Double Taxation treaties also. Nil custom duties on ITA items will reduce costs, though restricting the countervailing duty set-off only to excise duty is restrictive. The fringe benefits tax is worrisome because of definitional issues. If the intent is only to tax some fringe benefits not currently taxed, it is reasonable but the definitions look very wide right now."

-Infosys

"The best point about the Budget is that its top priority is infrastructure, which is also the biggest weakness of the country. I am happy that for Bangalore, in particular, the metro railway will receive central support. Better infrastructure is the only need of the IT industry to further improve its impressive growth in global markets. The government's intention to go ahead with the implementation of VAT by April 1 is a step forward in connecting the country into a single market."

"It is a progressive budget aimed at balanced growth across various sectors. The thrust on infrastructure will not only address the developmental needs of the country but also send the right signals to foreign investors. The focus on SMEs in IT, pharma and manufacturing is a good sign. Recognising IT's contribution as a job creator is a positive endorsement of the achievements of this sector and hopefully, the government will address some of the areas that might constrain growth in this sector."

"This is a progressive and balanced budget from the economic perspective. The announcement regarding implementation of VAT across all states from April 1, 2005 is a welcome step towards simplifying the tax regime in India. The government's decision to increase tele-density across all villages by 2007 will positively impact connectivity, helping rural Indians to be a part of the digital revolution. The revision in duties, particularly the exemption of customs duties on ITA bound items is likely to be welcomed by CIOs of Indian enterprises, which are aggressively increasing their IT budgets this year to make them globally competitive. In addition, the measures aimed at augmenting growth in sectors such as SMBs, textile and manufacturing will have a positive effect on the overall economic development of the nation."

"Budget 2005 has all the ingredients for growing the domestic IT market five times faster than the percentage of global IT spending. The government's focus on comprehensive development of infrastructure and rationalization of customs duties is a positive step to stimulate domestic demand. The spotlight on supporting SME's and increased skills development will be strong growth drivers for the Indian economy. Investment in creating a robust information infrastructure to monitor and execute on the social projects announced will help ensure that the benefits of government spending accrue to the common man."

India a manufacturing destination for Telecom equipments. This will surely make India a dominant player in the world for both manufacturing and services for the Telecom sector."

Ravi Sharma, President Alcatel South Asia

"Budget 2005 is aimed at satisfying CMP, which is necessary considering our diversity. The countervailing duty on IT hardware would raise prices, further affecting PC penetration and internet density."

"What will make a significant impact on Bangalore and naturally IT and ITES industry is budgetary support for metro rail and commitment to spend money to make IISc a world class institution on the lines of Stanford and MIT. However, they should have provided something for software product industry by first recognizing it as something different than services. The next engine for India's phenomenal progress in IT and ITES has to come from software products."

"The Union Budget 2005-06 clearly shows the government's commitment towards the reform process and long term vision for the telecom sector. We appreciate the consistent policy direction shown by this government and are confident that this reasonable tariff structure will help us keep the grey market under check and increase handset sales through the legal channel. The decision to remove mobile phones from the one-in-six criteria for filing income tax returns and increasing the government's contribution to the USO fund are also welcome developments that will give a boost to both mobile phone adoption and rural telephony. However for this budget to have its desired impact, the government will have to ensure that its guidelines are duly executed and enforced."

Sanjeev Sharma, Managing Director, Nokia India