SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — The titans of India’s industrial economy are confident the 2017 Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will help the nation boost consumption.

“This was a very good Budget that was growth-oriented. The measures announced by the finance minister, including the lowering of income tax will help boost consumption,” Adi Godrej, chairman of the Godrej Group, said in reaction.

“With re-monetization [introduction of Rs 2,000 and new Rs 500 currency notes] working well and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the anvil, private sector investment should revive shortly,” Godrej said.

Glenn Saldanha, chairman and managing director of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, hailed the budget as a “step in the right direction.” This budget allocates the proper funds for developing the country’s irrigation, as well as for the further development of roads, electricity and sanitation in rural parts of the nation, he added.

“Even though the Economic Survey paints a sober picture for 2016-17, primarily due to a weaker second half, the Budget provides the necessary impetus to sustain GDP growth at over 7 percent,” he said.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chair of Biocon, India’s largest biopharmaceutical company, said that due to demonetization and the GST, Jaitley may have been prevented from announcing new reforms. His focus, instead, has been shifted towards providing an injection of life on different sectors of the Indian economy, such as small businesses, startups and the agrarian sector.

Industry leaders are content with Jaitley’s drive to make it easier to receive foreign direct investments in India. “The government has shown its clear intent towards fast-tracking inflow of FDI, and the scrapping of the FIPB [Foreign Investment Promotion Board] is a notable step that would go a long way in supporting the objective of ease of doing business,” Saldanha said.

Rostow Ravanan, chief executive and managing director of Mindtree, said the budget also included provisions to raise India’s innovation, by setting up an innovation fund.

“The Budget’s focus on making education more accessible to educationally backward blocks, along with the steps taken to ramp up the Skill India Mission will help in maximizing the potential and capabilities of youth in the country,” he said.

Information from Forbes India contributed to this report.