Pitch Report: Agri sector wants subsidies, rise in cash transfers and better infra from Budget 2025

To increase farming income, analysts also suggested increasing the limit on Kisan Credit Card loan from the Rs 3 lakh currently.

In agricultural sector, companies and analysts expect the coming Budget to have announcements that support the rural consumption through fertiliser subsidies and welfare schemes, besides measures to improve infrastructure.

On February 1, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will announce the Union Budget 2025-26.

Bank of America Securities forecasts a marginal rise in subsidies while Goldman Sachs forecasts the government's expenditure on rural, welfare, transfer schemes and subsidies to be around their pre-pandemic trends of around 3 percent of the GDP in the upcoming budget.

Analysts at GS write, ""Given the reduced majority of the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) in the 2024 elections, there might be some re-allocation in expenditure towards rural transfers and welfare spending," the brokerage said.

BoFA's analysts wrote that they expected increased spending on welfare schemes through PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, which is a cash transfer scheme, and an upgradation of roads in the rural areas.

In the rural and agri infra front, other analysts too expect improvement in roads, irrigation facilities and better warehousing infrastructure to improve supply chain efficiency.

Sanjaya Mariwala, President of IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Moneycontrol, "Initiatives such as One District, One Warehouse, can minimise post-harvest losses and improve supply chain efficiency, resulting in an increase in farmer incomes.

To increase farming income, analysts also suggested increasing the limit on Kisan Credit Card loan from the Rs 3 lakh currently.

Vishal Sharma, Cofounder & CEO of ICICI and NABARD-backed Fintech, AdvaRisk said, "The limit has not been revised for several years even as costs of farming have increased substantially. This will spur production growth for agri sector and will support in increasing farming income. Any increase in farmers’ income not just improves their lifestyle but also decreases the risks for banking system as farmers are able to pay back loans on time".