Budget 2022: How to boost consumption sentiment? Experts weigh in

In our CNBC-TV18 special segment ‘Budget Countdown’, Gautam Duggad, Head of Research-Institutional Equities, Motilal Oswal Financial Services and Samiran Chakraborty, Chief Economist-India, Citi discuss whether the budget will provide ingenious means to boost consumption and how can they do it.

Chakraborty said, “If you look at the GDP data, it is a consumption which is yet to reach the pre-COVID level and that is partly because there is a dichotomy between consumption at the higher end of the income spectrum versus at the lower end. So what we think is that probably the higher end consumption is still going on quite okay, the problem is more at the lower end. If we accept that there is a little bit demand side boost required, how and where that demand side boost, we can push in, whether it should be rural, it should be urban, I think that is something that we need to discuss.”

Duggad said, “The top end of the spectrum is doing quite well, lower end and unorganised is facing the trouble. So the government clearly needs to step in here and support the consumption in the lower end of the strata, because otherwise the growth that you are envisaging for FY23 and FY24, will come under pressure.”