The government has to walk a tightrope to balance farmers' and consumers' interest in view of the Budget announcement on MSP that could further push up inflation , industry body Assocham said today.In the Union Budget 2018-19, the government promised to fix the minimum support price (MSP) at 50 per cent higher than the cost of production. "The Budget with a huge focus on agriculture has raised expectation level in rural landscape. Besides, entire national discourse has shifted to problems of rural India . "The question remains whether the consumers, especially those vocal in urban India, would bear with government and buy the argument that farmers have to be protected," Jajodia said.Besides, even within rural India, there are more of landless workers than land owners growing grains. The entire rural population, especially those earning wages, has to be protected against inflation, which is considered a painful tax on the poor, he added.

Source: Economic Times February 12, 2018 09:33 UTC