At a pre-budget meeting with the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and his team many industry leaders argued in favor of the continuation of the fiscal stimulus packages beyond April 2010.

They said that it is essential that the support given by the government last year remains as the economic recovery is still fragile and growth is some sectors was high because of the low base effect.

The joint effort from the industry captains could persuade the government to maintain the status quo and not withdraw the stimulus as it hinted earlier. The 7.9 per cent growth of the economy in the second quarter caused many to believe that the government would soon begin to withdraw the stimulus as it tries to contain the massive fiscal deficit which could be as much as Rs 4,00,000 crore, or 6.8 per cent of GDP this fiscal.

Ficci president Harsh Pati Singhania said that it is not the time for tightening of the monetary policy as the food inflation is very high. If the policy is tightened "it would derail the growth process and adversely impact the industrial sector."

"While announcements are made, real investment activity is still not there to the extent desired. Our suggestion was stimulus should be continued at least for the first two quarters of the next fiscal," He added.

Ficci has urged the Finance Minister to keep the peak customs duty 10% and requested reintroduction of tax exemption on export profits. Besides voicing the concerns about the cascading effect of dividend distribution tax the industry leaders requested the FM not to implement the proposed levy of minimum alternate tax (MAT).

FM has said that the support would not be withdrawn before the budget but some in the policy making framework think some sectors have recovered and soups from these could be pulled out. FM plans to meet economists, agriculturists, consumer activists and trade unions to take into consideration views of different interest groups

Mr Anand Mahindra, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra; Mr Ashwin Dani, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Asian Paints Ltd; Mr Gautam Singhania, Chairman and Managing Director of Raymond; Mr Venugopal Dhoot, Chairman, Videocon Group, and Mr Tulsi Tanti, Chairman and Managing Director, Suzlon Energy were the leaders attending the meet.