Budget 2022: CII sees uptick in India consumption by next quarter

India’s consumption demand is set to pick up by the first quarter of the financial year beginning April 1, bolstered by measures to boost economic growth in the upcoming federal budget, according to an industry lobby group. 

“The private sector is showing some signs of recovery,” Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin and Yvonne Man. “The key expectation from the budget is to see how public expenditure grows as it can really ignite the sector where we see weak demand.” 

The industry, hit by some curbs to control the omicron variant, is expecting relief measures in the budget due Tuesday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will probably boost spending in next fiscal’s budget by about 14% year-on-year to 39.6 trillion rupees ($527 billion), according to the median of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.  

With supply-chain disruptions expected to ease by the second half of the year, manufacturing is expected to get a further push, he said.  

Indian industry is also expecting measures for the rural economy, which has remained muted due to rising unemployment and widening inequalities. High-frequency indicators compiled by Bloomberg shows that top producers across consumer durables and automobiles signaled weakness as the year 2021 wound down.