Making his comments on the budget announcements, Mr Ajay Kakra, associate director, Agri and Natural Resources, PwC India, mentioned, "The budget has touched upon some critical areas such as agri-infrastructure, capacity development, farm lending etc. which are essential for agricultural development. Allocation for warehousing capacity development are in the right direction, however, there is a long way to go before the infrastructure gap is met in the agricultural sector. Tax Exemption for cotton ginning mills will be helpful to the Indian cotton industry."

According to Dr K C Ravi, head, Corporate Affairs, Syngenta India, the commitment of the government to achieve a sustainable growth of 4 percent through technology driven second green revolution in agriculture is welcome. The NDA government has also recognized the need to step up public and private sector investments in agro technology development through creation and modernization of exiting agri-business infrastructure.

"The move towards integrating markets for farmers across the country is a novel idea and should get support of the state governments and made possible by integration of technologies. Another welcome step is the proposal to link MGNREGA to be more productive, for asset creation and with linkages to agriculture and allied activities and is a step in the right direction. The proposal to develop global partnerships under India's leadership, to transform the Delhi component of the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) into a world-leader in lifesciences and biotechnology is a welcome step and we do hope that agriculture biotechnology will also get the desired focus, added Dr Ravi.