India’s struggling consumer goods sector pins its hopes on Budget 2020

India’s slump-hit consumer goods sector is high on hope in the run-up to the union budget for financial year 2021. Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms expect finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to announce measures to increase consumers’ disposable incomes, and smoothen the rough edges of the goods and services tax (GST), on Feb. 1. The FMCG sector, where sales growth fell to 7.3% in October-December 2019, compared with 15.7% a year ago, is in dire need of policy support.