Prior to the budget presentation, diamond and textile industry experts were hoping that certain benefits will be extended to them. The South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry called a meeting after the budget and also held a discussion with past presidents, and industry experts.

Nilesh Mandlewala, president of the South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “We were hoping that something would be done for the diamond and textile sectors, which employ as many as 20 lakh people. But nothing much has been done.”

Mandlewala, also a textile businessman, said: “We hope that the duty on semi-automatic looms should be removed under the TUF (Textile Upgradation Fund) scheme. The weaving industry in Surat is decentralised. Semi-automatic looms should be included in the TUF scheme, which has, however, not been done.”

He added: “Our expectation was that the capital subsidy in TUF scheme should not be reduced, but it has gone done from 20 to 15 per cent. We were hoping that the TFO machine would be included in capital subsidy, which has not been done.” He further said that even the Excise duty on yarn has been increased from four to eight per cent, contrary to their expectations. “Surat is becoming the embroidery hub and our hope was that Customs duty on embroidery would be reduced, but nothing has been done in this regard.”

Surat Diamond Association joint secretary Rohit Mehta said: “The budget is not good for the Gem and Jewellery industry. We expected a lot more from the finance minister, as the industry had experienced a slowdown, and many diamond polishers had committed suicide.”

He further said: “Even teams from the Central Board of Direct Taxes, RBI and Rahul Gandhi himself came to Surat and met the diamond polishers and businessmen. We expected the Centre to declare something good for the manufacturers and some schemes for the diamond artisans.” He said Customs duty on gold and silver has also been increased and this will directly affect the Gem and Jewellery industry as diamond-studded gold and silver jewellery will now become expensive.

Elsewhere, K K Sharma, the director of Indian Diamond Institute termed the Budget as balanced. He said: “The pre-shipment credit of two per cent on exports, which was earlier till September 2009, has now been extended up to March 2010, which is good news for exporters. Now, there will be no Excise duty on branded jewellery, which will benefit local consumers. Besides, Customs duty on rough diamond has been exempted too, which is good news.”

He added: “The insurance coverage on export, which was earlier between Rs 60 and 70 lakh, has now been increased to Rs 95 lakh on export of Rs 1 crore. But we were also hoping for I-T relaxation on manufacturers.”