NEW DELHI: The Centre's move to allocate additional funds to the rural jobs programme could help provide a cushion to rural demand that is expected to sink further as the pandemic wreaks havoc with rural wages and renders millions of migrants without jobs.
Fast moving consumer goods companies are hoping that the additional money in the hands of the rural consumer could help boost rural demand.
On Sunday, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an injection of ₹40,000 crore to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to enable people in rural India, including millions returning home from urban areas to their villages, find jobs.