This marks a big shift in the sentiments as well as boosting real incomes available for expenditure or investment in the hands of the households across the country. And unlike the usual proposed budgetary outlays in development work which take several years to start giving results, this would start reflecting instantly from the April 2025 paychecks of all the salaried middle class across the country. So, one is tempted to term this move as a “masterstroke” for boosting the country’s economy and in fact, it would act as a motivation for most to work hard, earn more and therefore not mind paying more tax!
The Government claims to have foregone a revenue of Rs 1 lakh crore by this announcement but then the GST regime, which has now been so well implemented, would help recoup part of the exemptions and thereby further boost the economy.
The budget announcements have termed agriculture as the engine for development along with continued emphasis on the four “castes”: the poor, youth, farmers and women. The cooperative sector has also been identified as a tool for development for all. Amul, as a cooperative owned by 36 lakh milk producers and the largest food and FMCG brand of India with annual sales turnover of ₹80,000 crore, would surely benefit from the Union Budget’s announcements with more consumers seeking to buy the trusted nutritious products and gain from shift in consumer behaviour from loose to packaged products due to higher purchasing power.
The increased outlays in dairy development and infrastructure development fund will surely benefit the country’s dairy sector. The increase in Kisan Credit Card loan limits from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh will also help millions of our rural producers. The budget allocation of Rs 500 crore as grant-in-aid to the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) for lending to cooperatives will give a big boost to the cooperative sector in the year which has been announced by the United Nations as International Year of Cooperatives.
It is not often that one witnesses a budget that is both pro-producer and pro-consumer. This will certainly fuel the “Viksit Bharat” dreams of a nation, that is ready to take on the challenges and opportunities in a dynamic world.
