Overall, this is a “consumption first” budget that will provide a much-needed thrust to growth in the FMCG sector, Vivek Gambhir, managing director and CEO, Godrej Consumer Products Limited said.

It re-emphasises the Aam Aadmi at the heart of the government’s pro-growth, pro-reform agenda; maintaining the fiscal deficit, stimulating demand and building a sustainable growth platform. It is positive for FMCG; proactive efforts to drive demand and increase consumption, in rural and urban, should help improve growth.

Focused efforts to relieve stress in the agrarian economy, including the Rs 60,000 crore investment in MNREGA, and crop loans, will help put more money in the hands of farmers.

The PM Kisaan Samman Nidhi allocation of Rs 75,000 crore, is importantly, aimed at benefitting small and marginal farmers. The plan to create 1 lakh digital villages in the next 5 years will improve connectivity and thereby distribution networks.

Raising the personal income tax slab limit from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, and raising the standard deduction for salaried employees, will increase disposable income for middle and salaried classes and drive demand for mass products.

But the need of the hour is clearly more productive job creation and gainful employment to meet the needs and aspirations of Young India. We hope to see this enabled through investments in SMEs and infrastructure investments, which seem to have slowed down.

The commitment to source 3 percent of government projects material from only women-owned SMEs, Mega Pension Scheme for unorganised workers, focus on health and wellness, will drive more inclusive growth.

However, the timely disbursement and strong on-ground execution will be absolutely critical now to ensure the translation and real success of this roadmap of change to make India a ”5 by 5” economy - $5 trillion economy in 5 years.

First Published:Feb 1, 2019 3:59 PM IST