Shares of Elgi Equipments and Shakti Pumps, makers of compressors, pumps & diesel engines for the agriculture sector were trading higher ahead of FM Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech today. While Elgi Equipments shares climbed 3.27% to Rs 703 in early deals, stock of Shakti Pumps climbed 5% to Rs 4299.85 on BSE. The Budget is likely to be agri-focused, according to reports and will focus on consumption theme instead of capital expenditure.
Brokerage JM Financial expects substantial budget allocations for accelerating technology adoption (like Nano urea), boosting productivity, and improving storage infrastructure within the sector from the FM’s Budget speech.
The agriculture sector also expects the FM to announce a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the Crop Protection sector.
Brokerage Anand Rathi expects increased budget allocation for agri /rural infrastructure, and for Kissan Samman Nidhi. It also sees higher credit flows to the agriculture sector. “While a large part of agri/rural policies (MSP, legislative reforms) are outside the Budget, we expect significant measures in rural infra, MGNREGA and welfare schemes.”
Brokerage Nuvama expects a rural boost in the Full Budget.
The agriculture sector expects the government to set aside Rs 2 lakh crore for the agriculture ministry to help it expand the government's flagship schemes on income support and crop insurance for farmers, Nuvama said.
The government is likely to allocate more funds to rural schemes to boost consumption, benefiting companies such as Hindustan Unilever, TVS Motor, and Hero MotoCorp, according to a report by Citi cited by Reuters.