Market veteran Raamdeo Agrawal has rated the Union Budget 2025-26 as a '100 out of 100', and sees new-age consumption names along with quick-commerce companies benefitting from the person income tax relief.
In conversation with CNBC-TV18, Raamdeo said he sees additional money accumulating in the hands of the taxpayers, thus boosting consumption.
Finance Minister Sitharaman in the Budget speech on February announced changes in the existing income tax slabs under the new tax regime, effectively hiking tax rebate limit to Rs 12.75 lakh per annum. The Finance Minister also raised the basic exemption limit under the new tax regime from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh. Read More Details Here.
"It is definitely a 100 out of 100 Budget. There is no negative, which is a big positive," Raamdeo said, adding that everything mentioned in the Economic Survey found some space in the Budget.
"Clearly, when your income level is about Rs 15-24 lakh and you get a benefit of about Rs 70,000-80,000, that money will go into consumption, and that is what the market is betting on. So, I would go by the market judgement that consumption, particularly FMCG companies, like Zomato, which sells small-ticket items, will get benefitted," Raamdeo said.
"I would rather spend my money on digital, quick-commerce companies with 70-80% growth rate than old companies, where the growth rate at best will be 10-15%. Clearly, if consumption companies were worth Rs 100 yesterday, today they are worth Rs 105," said the veteran investor.
Raamdeo added that the additional money at the hands of people was a much-needed step, as the government couldn't cut GST to boost consumption. "The market was sitting on the capex hike, and there is a shift in the allocation. We were saying that economy was growing at 7.5%, but there was no feel on the consumption side. But now, some money has been put in the hands of the middle class, because if you can't increase the income, you must reduce the tax, so people can buy some more. The other way was to reduce the cost of the goods by reducing the GST. On that side, they have not done (much). So, they have put some more money in the hands of consumers, and the real benefit is going to come from the economic growth," said the Chairman & Co-founder of Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Raamdeo also praised Finance Minister's move to increase the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector from 74 percent to 100 percent.
Zomato shares closed 7.17% higher at Rs 236.15 per share on BSE. Shares of its rival and another major player in the quick-commerce sector, Swiggy, rose 4.51% to close at Rs 435.30 apiece.
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