FMCG, durables cos expect continued focus on rural areas
Press Trust of India / New Delhi Jul 05, 2009, 18:05 IST
FMCG and consumer durables companies are excepting continuation of rural employment guarantee schemes in the Budget tomorrow to help boost demand across the country.
They are also expecting rationalisation of the tax structure and a clear roadmap for the introduction of goods and services tax (GST), at the earliest.
"We expect the government to continue their focus on the rural sector with rural employment guarantee schemes and profitable supply of funds to those areas," Dabur India Chief Executive Officer Sunil Duggal said.
These measures would help the FMCG industry by boosting demand in rural areas and villages, he added. Demand from the rural sector helped the Rs 1,00,000 crore industry grow at around 17-18 per cent in the last fiscal despite heavy odds such as rising input costs, high inflation and the economic downturn.
According to industry experts, rural markets account for over 35 per cent of the total sales of FMCG products in India.
"We do not expect any tax sops from the government in Budget... But would like to see that the government should keep spending more on rural areas, which is not only good for FMCG segment but for the whole country," Godrej Group Chairman and Managing Director Adi Godrej said.
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