Budget evokes mixed reactions – The Hindu

The Union Budget 2026-27 has received mixed reactions from the leaders of industries in the region and people from different walks of life.

While terming the budget as a growth oriented, P. Gopalakrishnan, president of the Karur Textile Manufacturers and Exporters Association (KTMEA), said that it was a timely and forward-looking budget that would strongly support Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs, to generate employment generation. “At a time when global trade uncertainties and tariff pressures continue to impact exports, this budget provides much-needed support to safeguard jobs and strengthen the competitiveness of India’s export sectors. I believe the measures announced will significantly benefit Tamil Nadu’s key textile clusters, including Karur, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, and Erode,” Mr. Gopalakrishnan said.

For clusters like Karur, which were largely dependent on home textiles and value-added manufacturing, the budget had offered both stability and new growth opportunities, he added and continued that the enhanced support for MSMEs, including the increase in credit guarantee coverage from ₹5 crore to ₹10 crore, improved access to working capital, and revised MSME classification norms would help small and medium textile exporters manage thin margins, invest in technology, and remain resilient amid global market volatility.

However, the absence of specific measures to tackle the crisis being faced by the textile sector in the wake of high tariffs by the United States of America has disappointed the textile exporters in Karur. “The US tariff pressures and global trade disruptions have severely hit the exporters. When textile exporters face order uncertainties, pricing pressures, and margin erosion due to external tariff actions, a focused support mechanism such as export incentives, duty drawback enhancement or temporary relief measures would have helped safeguard employment and export momentum,” said Sukumar, secretary of KTMEA.

G. B. Ramkumar, president, Tiruchi District Small Industries and Micro Manufacturers Association, TIDISIMMA, said that the budget had doubled the credit guarantee limit from ₹5 crore to ₹10 crore. It would strengthen the MSMEs. “The budget is a resolution to build a Viksit Bharat. It does not offer freebies, but it offers capabilities. By strengthening the hands of farmers, the MSMEs and others, the budget ensures that India’s rise is driven by its own people and its own capital,” Mr. Ramkumar added.

N. Kanagasabapathy, former Chairman, Tiruchi Trade Centre, said that the entrepreneurs and the exporters of the region were expecting an announcement for establishing a dry port in Tiruchi. However, no such announcement was made in the budget.

S. Pushpavanam, secretary, Consumer Protection Council, said creation of three more institutes for pharmacy education and research, allocation of ₹40,000 crore to semi-conductor research, the push for sports goods manufacture and creation of mega textile parks were welcome measures.

M.A. Aleem, a Tiruchi based neurologist, said that a number of announcements had been made to create healthcare infrastructure. It would promote medical tourism in the country. H. Ghouse Baig, an activist, said that most of the previous budget assurances were still on paper. The budge was a statement of rosy words.