Consumer goods companies today termed the Budget 2018 as forward-looking which will fuel the rural and agrarian economy, besides increasing disposable income for the common man and drive demand for mass products.
Unveiling the last full budget before general elections, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a slew of measures for the agriculture and rural sectors as also a new health insurance scheme for the poor.
In a major bonanza to farmers, Mr. Jaitley announced fixing support price of Kharif crops like paddy at least 50% higher than the cost of production, while raising farm credit target for the next fiscal by 10% to ₹11 lakh crore.
“It presses all the right buttons when it comes to fueling the rural and agrarian economy with a slew of measures including higher MSPs for Kharif crops, upfront agriculture focus, institutional support for price discovery and upgradation of rural haats to give farmers better access to formal mandis,” Dabur India chief executive officer Sunil Duggal said.
Expressing similar views, Marico MD & CEO Saugata Gupta said: “It is all-inclusive, forward-looking and has a strong thrust on agriculture, rural, MSME, healthcare, infrastructure and employment, which augurs well for FMCG companies.”
While a slew of investment was announced mostly catering to the rural economy, the government has let go on the fiscal consolidation roadmap.
As a result, fiscal deficit for current fiscal will be 3.5% of the GDP as against 3.2 % previously targeted, and 3.3% in FY’19 as opposed to 3% previously targeted.
