Pre-Election Budget May Offer Consumption Boosters and Rural Sops
• Interim budget may introduce measures to boost consumption demand and rural economy • Could reduce tax burden by tweaking tax slabs or raising standard deduction to put more money in people's hands • May increase funds for rural employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA and raise payouts for farmers • Additional sops possible for women and marginalized groups ahead of general elections • Unlikely to contain major new proposals on taxes or schemes typical of interim budgets