Farmers, Consumption, Jobs, Small Biz Budget Priorities

The finance minister's proposals will be closely watched amid global uncertainties

- Gireesh Chandra Prasad & Dhirendra Kumar

Agriculture, small businesses, household consumption and job-creation are expected to be the priorities of the Union budget for 2025-26 as India's economy slows amid global uncertainties.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to announce incentives for farmers, easy credit and other sops for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), measures to step up household consumption and skilling initiatives in the budget, according to two people familiar with the discussions in the government.

The emphasis on these areas is expected to advance the government's inclusive growth agenda, they said.

Extensive discussions are on to nail the specific measures and budget allocations, with some of the tailored steps to be crystallized over the next few days, said one of the people quoted above.

Sitharaman's eighth and the second full budget of the NDA government's third term has identified these priorities when growth is expected to moderate to 6.4% in FY25 after an average of 8.3% in the three preceding financial years, having recovered from the first wave of the pandemic in FY21.