Budget 2018: Budget targets larger populace, their well-being

Presenting the last full Budget of this Government before next year’s general elections, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has done well to bring back the focus on sectors that provide employment and livelihood to the largest sections of the population. The agricultural and food processing sectors, coupled with the micro, small and medium industries — that include industries in textile, leather and footwear, form the bedrock of India’s employment and social base.

The Budget is aimed at creating a platform for bringing about a sustainable and long-term change in these sectors and bringing back the economy on the 8% growth trajectory.

PM Modi aims to doubling farmer income by 2022. Jaitley has correctly noted that this requires farmers to earn significantly more from their current produce. This demands strong focus on value addition of India’s farm produce.

For the past couple of years, we at Future Group have focussed on offering a wider selection of value-added food products and building a presence across the food value chain. Our experience says not only is there a huge demand for such products in urban India, but this focus on value addition can also bring about significant rise in farmers’ income. The Budget has doubled the allocation for food processing and is about to roll out Operation Green, aimed at boosting farmer-producer organisations and food logistics chains. In addition, the government is investing in strengthening the infrastructure and connectivity of agri markets. The government has clearly taken a leaf out of the dairy sector, that has benefitted immensely by creating a steady stream of value-added products from milk. The Operation Flood had initiated this process and hopefully Operation Green could result in a similar transformation in other segments of agricultural produce.  

These steps can help attract larger corporate investments and make the sector more attractive for players like us to establish stronger linkages. India is home to almost every climatic zone, and therefore has the ability to produce almost every food produce. Investments in processing this produce will go a long way in helping more than half of the country’s population earn more for the hard work they put in.

The government’s focus on easing the labour norms and the budgetary support to the textile and footwear industry will help the sector immensely. Linking of Trade discounting system (TReDS) with the GST network, the MUDRA scheme and increasing financing options for MSMEs will bring in more ease in conducting their business. The textile, footwear and leather industries are among the largest employing sectors in India and can benefit from this Budget.

Nothing benefits the economy more, than when larger sections of the population benefit from macro changes that the government brings through. This Budget is clearly for the larger populace. And their well-being will surely trickle up to everyone yearning for a more prosperous and developed India.