Budget 2025 Expectations: 15% More Allotment To This Sector? See Report

Budget 2025 Expectations: “In the upcoming budget for the fiscal year 2025/26, the Indian government is expected to allocate an additional 15% increase in funding for agriculture, amounting to $20 billion. This surge represents the largest investment in the sector in the past six years. The government's goal is to stabilize rural incomes and curb persistent food inflation,"a Reuters report said citing sources.

Budget 2025 Expectations: Key Areas of Investment

According to the report, the additional investment will focus on several key areas: enhancing infrastructure, increasing storage capacity, and developing high-yielding seed varieties. The government is also planning to boost the production of essential crops, including pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, and dairy products. This move is expected to strengthen domestic supply chains and alleviate pressure on food prices.

Tackling Persistent Food Inflation

"India, the world’s second-largest producer of rice, wheat, and sugar, has been battling high food prices, with food inflation rising above 10% in October 2024. Although prices have eased slightly since then, they have remained above 6% on average over the last decade. In response, the government has imposed export restrictions on certain agricultural products, like wheat, and extended the duty-free import policy for some pulse varieties to ensure domestic availability" this report states further.

Support for Farmers and Exports

Total agriculture allocations in the 2025/26 budget are expected to rise to about 1.75 trillion rupees ($20.2 billion), up from 1.52 trillion rupees in the current fiscal year. The budget will include a significant increase in the agricultural ministry's funding and boost investment in agricultural research to develop new crop varieties. Additionally, the government aims to generate a surplus in agricultural production sufficient to boost farm exports to $80 billion by 2030, up from the current $50 billion.

Supporting Agriculture and Fisheries

The government also reportedly plans to increase the limit for subsidized farm loans to Rs 500,000 per farmer and expand crop insurance coverage. Additionally, it aims to boost pulse production to 30 million metric tons by 2030 and invest $9 billion in the fisheries sector over the next five years. The budget will also provide incentives totaling 109 billion rupees to food processing firms through 2027.

These measures are part of the government's ongoing efforts to improve agricultural productivity, increase rural incomes, and stabilize food prices in India.