"This is a great Budget for the IT industry and will lead to the entry of a lot of new manufacturers in computer hardware in eastern India," according to B Hari, secretary, Computer Association of Eastern India.

Hari said "The IT industry will now get the benefits accorded to the small scale industries. This will lead to a boost in the information technology market in India."

He further said "I feel the problem of duty evasion will come down greatly by the measures introduced in this Budget."

"The stock option that has been announced in the Budget will probably solve a lot of problems in the financing part of the business and I feel we will see a new era when the financial institutions will be able to contribute to the growth of the industry," he added.

All the customs duty changes that have been introduced in the computer hardwares in the Budget were expected and logical,according to Bikram Dasgupta, chief executive of the Calcutta based Globsyn group.