leaders said on Tuesday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget for 2024-25 proposed to fully exempt customs duties on 25 critical minerals and reduce Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on two of them.

This will provide a major fillip to the processing and refining of such minerals and help secure their availability for these strategic and important sectors,” she noted. Minerals such as lithium, copper, cobalt and rare earth elements are critical for sectors like nuclear energy, renewable energy, space, defence, telecommunications, and high-tech electronics, Sitharaman stated.

“The Indian automobile industry welcomes the continued emphasis on economic growth with several announcements, especially the strong fiscal support for infrastructure in the next five years,” Aggarwal stated.

Liberal allocation for rural development and infrastructure of Rs 2.66 lakh crore is a welcome step that will boost the rural economy, he added.

SIAM also welcomes several proposals in the Budget such as measures for skilling and upskilling and support to manufacturing and employment generation and support to MSMEs, many of whom form the large supplier base for the auto sector, Aggarwal said.