By Ms. Anjana Ghosh, MD, Scale Sherpas:
“Last year’s Union Budget was largely centred around fiscal consolidation, capex-led growth, and infrastructure development, with a strong emphasis on maintaining macroeconomic stability. It also included announcements around workforce skilling, employment generation, and formalisation, which were important long-term enablers. However, the impact on consumption-driven sectors like FMCG has been gradual, especially in General Trade and rural markets.
This year, the expectation is a sharper pivot towards reviving consumption and boosting disposable incomes, particularly in rural and semi-urban India, which contributes nearly 60% of FMCG demand. Targeted measures to support employment generation ansd skill development are critical, given that the FMCG ecosystem supports over 3 million frontline jobs. Additionally, accelerating digital and logistics enablement for kirana stores, which still account for close to 90% of FMCG sales, can significantly improve efficiency and scalability across the supply chain. Rationalising GST structures and continuing ease-of-doing-business reforms will further help emerging and challenger brands grow sustainably.
A consumption-led Budget, backed by policy continuity, can create a strong multiplier effect for the entire FMCG ecosystem.”