Wheels of a consumer-driven economy might move slower: Narayan Devanathan

Sharing his reactions to the Union Budget 2022-23, presented byFinane Minister Nirmala Sitharaman yesterday (February 1, 2022), Narayan Devanathan, Chief Client Officer, dentsu India, made an interesting observation. He said that after going through the 38-page document of the Finance Minister’s budget speech, he decided to do a search for a couple of words that he thought kept repeating throughout her speech. Devanathan pointed out that the words “will be” occurred 110 times in the entire speech. “When I narrowed my search to the single word “will,” the number rose to 362.”

“To me, those two words sum up the essence of what this year’s budget is and is not. What it is, is a future-focused budget, aiming at the distant vision of India@100, with a 25-year Amrit Kaal lead-up. What it is not, and what I felt was sorely needed this year of all years, is a present-focused budget,” he remarked.

Devanathan noted that a punishing 2021 for the aam aadmi, with more-than-usual expenditure on health and sustenance, meant the general populace was looking for immediate relief that would place more cash in their household budgets. However, that did not happen, he said, nor was there any extraordinary investment in relieving the healthcare expenditure burden.

“For all the importance of farmers in upcoming poll-bound states, there was neither major sop nor stimulus given to back the importance of agriculture as a spine if not engine of the economy. Even the MSME sectors were only handed a slightly longer lease of life with the extension of the ECLGS, but there was no real move to stimulate consumption by placing more cash at consumers’ disposal, for example, extending LTA claims to restaurants (and not just accommodation),” he said. .

Still, there is perhaps plenty for the industry to cheer about since it can afford to think about the future and a slightly longer term than just the here and now of survival. “The stock market did cheer up even before the FM’s speech, but that only served to underscore the dichotomy between the real health of the population and the Minority of Haves. When the general population probably can’t afford to wait for the benefits of trickle-down economics to reach them in yet another trying year, the dreams and wheels of a consumer-driven economy might move slower than the industry might like, despite the many future-facing and progressive policies announced,” Devanathan said.