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Before the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget in the Parliament on February 1, 2021.
Here’s what the Agri sector expects from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman:
Mr. Sunoor Kaul, Co-Founder & Director, Origo Commodities:
“In the Budget 2021-2022, there is a need to focus on the infrastructural issues that exist in the agricultural sector. There are a few large gaps in this context vis-a-vis warehouses, silo storages, and related infrastructure.
The government has to pay attention to the entire agricultural value chain for enhancing productivity and reducing post-harvest losses.
Loans to the agricultural sector via NBFCs should also be classified as Priority Sector Lending (PSL) credit. At present, though bank lending to the segment is considered as a PSL credit, it is not the case for onward lending via NBFCs.
Furthermore, there is a deficit of $95 billion prevailing within the segment. To promote agri-investments as an asset class, we have to unlock liquidity by increasing investor involvement in the agricultural supply chain.
A good way to do it will be to relax income and capital gains taxes for Agri instruments such as Pass-Through Certificates (PTCs) and other modes of securitization. Doing so will empower more retail investors to participate in the domain.”