Though the Union Budget does not have anything specific for the coastal region, proposals concerning small-scale industries, agriculture, urban development and road transport could make a definite impact on the economy.
The region — dominated by medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs), agricultural activities and facing rapid urbanisation — is in need of a boost in these sectors. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has proposed to appoint a committee to examine the financial architecture of the MSME sector. He also proposed a Rs. 10,000-crore fund to attract private capital for start-ups. The Minister said district-level incubation and accelerator programmes would be taken up for incubation of new ideas and providing necessary support for accelerating entrepreneurship. While Mr. Jaitley has set apart Rs. 7,060 crore for building 100 smart cities across the country, one has to wait and see whether Mangalore would be one among them. Similarly, the proposal to revive special economic zones could have an impact on the Mangalore SEZ, which last year was opened for all categories of enterprises, from the earlier restricted usage of petrochemical enterprises. The proposal to complete the gas pipeline network by adding another 15,000 km of lines to the existing network would have an impact on the region.
