Leading Non-Resident Indian businessmen and industrialists in Britain on Friday described the Union Budget as 'very progressive' even though there were 'no incentives' for Indians living abroad.

Reacting to Friday's budget proposals by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, S P Hinduja, chairman of the multi-billion dollar Hinduja Group, said that although there has been 'no incentives provided for the NRIs,' he was happy that recommendations made by the IndusInd [Get Quote] International Federation have been accepted 'in one form or the other.'

The IIF, an organisation of overseas Indians and resident corporates and individuals, had made several recommendations to the government regarding investment in social and physical infrastructure, monitoring and implementation, rationalization of indirect taxes, reduction in personal taxation, trading in carbon credits and activating the corporate bond market.

Hinduja said it was a 'very progressive budget' showing concern for the common man and which is expected to bring in 'all-inclusive growth.'

The focus has been on social sector (health, education, women and child welfare, insurance for poor people, social security to organised sector) physical infrastructure and controlling inflation, he said.

'The crucial challenge will be monitoring and implementation of the schemes, where large sums of money are being pumped in. The central and state governments must work in close coordination to implement the schemes.'

G P Hinduja, president of the group said: "The Finance Minister has indeed come out with a very progressive budget for inclusive growth. The budget has made serious attempts to reverse the slow-down in the manufacturing sector, especially the auto industry by reducing excise duty."

"The major highlight is the waiver of loans to the distressed farmers to the extent of Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion). While this is a laudable measure, the government needs to ensure that the waiver does not affect the discipline of repayment among borrowers from other sectors. On the whole, a good and growth-oriented budget,' he said.