Union Budget sets bold vision, but execution will decide its impact, says business tycoon Ajay S. Shriram

THE 2025 Union Budget had sufficient substance to be called a pragmatic one, that was suspenseful yet holds good for the long haul.

Geared for consumption: The global narrative in 2024, unfortunately, has been marred by tepid consumption trends. Tariffs, a raging dollar, and climate change were additional worries for producers and producing nations.

Naturally, something had to be done. The Budget responds to the production and consumption challenges. Reading the Budget documents, one can surmise that the idea of the policymakers has been to tame the consumption pattern right. There is no better way to improve consumption than rewarding citizens with an incentive to save taxes. Additional waivers such as TDS and TCS concessions should spur transparency and consumption.

Governance in business: Reforms such as the High-level Committee for Regulatory Reforms and the Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0 mark significant strides in the government’s agenda to enhance the Ease of Doing Business. Additionally, the introduction of the Investment Friendliness Index of States in 2025 will foster competitive, cooperative federalism.

Rural prosperity, agriculture: Despite the loss from a fiscal profligacy perspective, expenses have been kept under check. It’s laudable that the Budget-makers have kept enough room to focus on other aspects — the rural side and agriculture.

Value accretive to farm sector: Although Budgets can seem lucrative with typical keywords, this one goes beyond adjectives. It starts by calling agriculture as the ‘first engine of growth’ but on an equal footing delves into deft policies. A policy such as the PM Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojana suggests the extent of the government’s understanding. It wishes to tackle the productivity gap. This needs appreciation because it not only helps India attain self-sufficiency but also pushes for competitive exports.

Similarly, the focus on a five-year mission to boost cotton production with a focus on extra-long fibre productivity and sustainability is a step in the right direction. A mission mode focus to boost production should relieve farmers as well as rejuvenate the textile sector.

A new National Mission focussed on high-yielding, pest-resistant, and climate-resilient seeds will also help revolutionise farming practices. As announced by the finance minister, this mission will strengthen research and development in the seed sector, ensuring that more than 100 new varieties of seeds, released since July 2024, are available for commercial use.

Rather than just improving outlays, this Budget focusses on the little details. In fact, the focus has been broader — rural prosperity and resilience aimed at uplifting credit, loan limits, recognition of allied sectors such as fisheries and dairy, etc. On credit, MSME and micro-MSME specific policies find mention. The loan limit under the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme has been increased from ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh with access getting expanded to include 77 million farmers, fishermen, and dairy farmers.

Devil is not in the detail: The agriculture sector certainly has several positive advantages from the Budget. From a fertiliser perspective, a new plant at Namrup, Assam with a capacity of 1.27 million metric tonne/year should save precious forex and improve self-reliance. Additionally, the role of India Post has been broadened to be considered for rural services. This should spur better cash flow and have a positive impact on the rural economy.

The adage among the C-suite is to look out for the devil in the detail. But this time, the challenge may be implementation. Given how agile global markets and climate change gets, it may be a good idea to institutionalise national-level missions.

The intent of the Budget is clear but timely implementation and realisation to the farmer hold the key.

(Views are personal)