 "Budget's focus on agriculture augurs well for agrochemicals: Sudhir Shetty")
This is one of the least volatile budgets I have seen and does a reasonable balancing act. Happy to see that the fiscal prudence has not been compromised with the deficit maintained at 3.2 percent. Overall the Budget seems to be tilted towards the rural and agriculture sector developments.
From the chemical sector point of view, the announcements relating to agriculture, like easing the credit availability and the Krishi Vigyan labs should add an impetus to the agrochemicals sector. This will aid farmers with access to products and technology on improving their yields and towards more sustainable practices.
Furthermore, the rural drinking water program outlay must be supported with investment in the right technology to ensure access to potable water along with a key focus on recycle, reuse and reducing the footprint.
The budget has no significant interventions on enabling access to feedstock, which is one of the key barriers limiting investments into petrochemicals.
It is also disappointing to see that there is not anything on corporate tax except a proposal to cut corporate tax rate for MSMEs. However, the abolition of the foreign investment promotion board, along with the promise of further liberalisation of the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy would have a positive impact on the sector in the medium term.
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Sudhir Shetty is the CEO of Dow India
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