NEW DELHI, June 8: The maiden budget of the BJP-led government lacks "vision and strategy" and the GDP growth rate for 1998-99 is unlikely to exceed six per cent, a leading chamber said today.The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) president L Lakshman said the finance minister had not spelt out the government's commitment in containing the mounting fiscal deficit in the long term to at least three per cent.In an interactive meeting with the Forum of Financial Writers (FFW) here, he said with GDP growth rate pegged at six per cent, fiscal deficit was most likely to overshoot the targeted 5.6 per cent to touch 6.5 per cent. The need for financial discipline on the part of state governments' was missing in the proposals, he added.Terming the budget as having cost push inflationary potential, Lakshman said it might touch double digit levels unless credit management by the banking system improved along with a watchful monetary policy. Referring to the increased central plan outlay, hesaid it was difficult to expect immediate results on industrial revival and may take at least six to seven months for overcoming the lagged effect. The levy of eight per cent across the board additional customs duty on imported raw materials will perpetuate existing inverted duty structure discouraging domestic value addition, Lakshman said.Criticising the eight per cent excise duty on branded products, he said it would impede flow of technology in the agro-based industries and adversely effect the common man. He termed the proposal for modvat disallowance of five per cent as a retrograde measure.
