The commodity exchanges hailed the Budget move to encourage farmers for use of options as increased focus on agri-derivatives will strengthen the financial infrastructure. "We welcomes the encouragement and support to farmers for use of options through farmers producer companies to make informed planting decisions and locking in prices prior to harvest. The rationalisation of CTT for commodity options is also a welcome step and will help more participants use the exchange for price protection," the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) managing director Vijay Kumar said here. "The announcement of increasing focus on agri-derivatives will strengthen our financial infrastructure. We welcome such progressive reforms to strengthen the exchange market ecosystem." Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) MD & CEO Sanjit Prasad said. "It has always been a tight rope walk for any finance minister to balance between higher MSP and fiscal deficit.
It nice to hear that the finance minister has reposed faith on financial derivatives on agri commodities to give a right price to the Indian farmers and save them from distress sale by locking price on commodity exchanges," Prasad added. "The Government's focus and thrust on agriculture is captured succinctly in its reiteration of the objective of doubling the income of farmers. In this context, the recognition of commodity derivatives and expansion of the repository framework (under WDRA) as an integral part of the institutional mechanism that the government (along with NITI Aayog) intends to utilise for optimal price realisation of farmers, is very encouraging for the futures markets as well as the healthy development of ecosystem, MCX said. We keenly look forward to the details and modalities under the comprehensive Gold policy wherein the intent is to develop Gold as an 'asset class'.
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