Direct selling major Amway on Tuesday said it is looking forward to GST rationalisation on healthcare supplements from 18 per cent to 5 per cent, given the focus on a holistic healthcare system in the Union Budget 2021-22.
Stating that the Indian FMCG sector witnessed massive disruptions in 2020 owing to the coronavirus pandemic, Amway India CEO Anshu Budhraja said in this context, the budget provides a big boost to the Aatma Nirbhar vision which will propel growth for all industries alike.
"As a nutrition and wellness company, it was heartening to witness health and well-being as one of six key pillars for the proposals. In fact, the emphasis on preventive healthcare and launch of Mission Poshan 2.0 will strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach, and outcome and will further augur well for the nutraceutical industry," he said.
Given the focus on a holistic healthcare system, Budhraja said, "We were looking forward to GST rationalisation on healthcare supplements from 18 per cent to 5 per cent. We are hopeful that the government will direct adequate funds in this direction while working towards a consistent and sustainable approach to address nutrition-related health issues." Owing to the pandemic, he said there was significant increase in consumer demand and the FMCG industry was "looking forward to some relief in income tax as it could have positively impacted disposable income and thereby, further strengthened the spending power of consumers".
Commenting on the provision for universalisation of social security for the entire workforce, including gig and platform workers, proposed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the budget, Budhraja said it is a welcome move.
"Gig economy is one of the key pillars of an advanced economy, and it was imperative to recognise and integrate this new-age workforce into the existing regime, he said adding the emphasis on ease of doing business announced in the budget would bode well for the MSME sector, while a further push in this direction would also bolster growth of the second largest employment generator in the country.
The special focus on increasing manufacturing capacity along with massive outlays for infrastructure development, will help in a swifter economic recovery and generate substantial employment opportunities, besides providing economic incentives to the public and private sectors, Budhraja said.
