India’s consumption ball has started rolling, but will it go far? Marico’s boss Saugata Gupta answers

FOR FY26, the priority for FMCG players is to overturn the slowdown in demand, especially when it comes to discretionary spending. In that regard, the Budget has taken several steps towards revitalising the sector’s growth.

Rural revival: The most promising of Budget announcements was the continued focus on rural markets. A corpus of ₹1.5 lakh crore for 50-year, interest-free loans for capex and infrastructure requirements signals a recognition of the rural market’s evolving needs. It will go a long way towards injecting some much-needed liquidity into rural warehousing and supply chain infrastructure by incentivising state governments to modernise the FMCG infrastructure in rural, Tier II-III geographies. Such investments will reduce logistics costs and improve the sector’s ability to serve markets more efficiently. The ₹11.2-lakh-crore capital expenditure push in FY26, focused on roads, railways, and airports, will reduce logistics costs for FMCG companies. Lower distribution expenses and better market connectivity are expected to improve product availability, especially in Tier II-III cities.

The Kisan Credit Card loan limit has been increased from ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh, benefitting 7.7 crore farmers. Higher credit availability will lead to increased rural spending, driving rural growth.

This will be complemented by the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana. The Central government will launch an agricultural district programme in association with state governments; the goal is to boost agricultural productivity through crop diversification, and sustainable farming practices, as well as enhance post-harvest storage at the Panchayat and block levels, improve irrigation facilities, and enable access to both long-term and short-term credit.

A nutrition-rich India: A six-year mission has been launched to achieve self-reliance in pulses — focusing specifically on tur and masoor — with central agencies such as NAFED and NCCF procuring the designated pulses from registered farmers. A comprehensive programme for vegetables and fruits has also been announced to support the growing trend toward healthier, more nutritious diets. Further, the Budget highlighted the impending launch of a National Mission on high-yielding seeds, critical to ensuring improved productivity, higher profitability, and better resilience.

Empowering the middle-class: The Budget’s strategic tax reforms mark a significant shift in boosting consumer spending. For senior citizens, the doubling of tax-exempt interest earnings to ₹1 lakh provides greater financial flexibility in retirement planning and discretionary spending. Meanwhile, the zero-tax threshold of ₹12 lakh for salaried individuals represents a substantial relief that could catalyse increased consumer spending, particularly in urban markets where discretionary purchases had seen restraint.

Driving digital infrastructure: The focus on incentivising the adoption of digital and technology infrastructure will improve future-readiness and global competitiveness. The ₹10,000-crore corpus announced to drive entrepreneurship, in particular, is a welcome move; not only will it encourage start-up investments in automation, AI, and data analytics to modernise FMCG operations across the entire value chain, but also strengthen the infrastructure supporting online retail and digital brands, and especially those in the D2C space.

Budget 2025 presented an opportunity to address both immediate challenges and long-term growth objectives of the Indian FMCG sector. By introducing supportive policy measures, the government has indicated its willingness and determination to accelerate this momentum. As the country enters the next phase of growth, the measures taken in this Budget will not only help revitalise the FMCG industry, but also contribute significantly to India’s aspiration of becoming a $5-trillion economy.

(Views are personal)