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By:

Kaustubh Kale

10 September 2024 at 11:37:15 pm

Fast Today, Prosper Tomorrow

AI Generated Image Navratri is a time when devotion, self-control, and celebration come together. For nine days, people across the country observe fasting, prayers, and rituals with discipline and faith. But beyond the spiritual significance, Navratri also carries valuable lessons for our financial lives - especially in how fasting and sacrifice mirror the principles of investing. Fasting as discipline When we fast, we consciously give up indulgence. It is not just about avoiding food; it...

Fast Today, Prosper Tomorrow

AI Generated Image Navratri is a time when devotion, self-control, and celebration come together. For nine days, people across the country observe fasting, prayers, and rituals with discipline and faith. But beyond the spiritual significance, Navratri also carries valuable lessons for our financial lives - especially in how fasting and sacrifice mirror the principles of investing. Fasting as discipline When we fast, we consciously give up indulgence. It is not just about avoiding food; it is also about training the mind and body to resist temptation. The same applies to investing. In a world full of instant gratification, whether it is the latest gadget, a fancy car, an expensive lifestyle or a luxury holiday, real wealth creation requires the discipline to sometimes say, “not now.” Just as fasting strengthens willpower, disciplined investing strengthens our financial health. Sacrifice for a greater good Navratri fasting involves small sacrifices today for spiritual growth tomorrow. In investing too, we often have to sacrifice some short-term pleasures to secure long-term prosperity. Choosing to invest a bonus instead of spending it entirely, or increasing SIPs using a portion of every salary increment instead of allocating the entire increase towards expenses and new liabilities, may feel like a sacrifice initially. But these small decisions, repeated over many years, can accumulate into significant future wealth and financial security. This is the very essence of delayed gratification. Patience and consistency Navratri fasting is not observed for just one day. The discipline continues throughout the nine days. Similarly, investing is not about one lucky trade or one successful investment. Wealth creation requires staying the course month after month and year after year through regular investing, sensible asset allocation and the power of compounding. There will inevitably be periods when markets test our patience. But just as discipline during Navratri is maintained throughout the festival, financial discipline must continue through both good and difficult market conditions. Balance and moderation Fasting during Navratri is not about starving. It is about moderation, restraint and mindful eating. Investing too should not be about extremes, neither reckless risk-taking nor excessive conservatism. A well-planned portfolio spread appropriately across assets such as equity, debt and gold can provide both growth and stability. Just as moderation keeps the body healthy, balance helps keep our finances resilient. The bigger picture Ultimately, Navratri fasting is also about purification of the body, mind and soul. Investing, in its own way, requires purification of financial habits: moving away from impulsive spending, unnecessary liabilities and short-term thinking towards purposeful saving and wealth creation. This Navratri, as you observe your fast with devotion and discipline, also resolve to bring the same qualities into your financial life. After all, both fasting and investing ask us to give up a little today in pursuit of something greater tomorrow. (The author is a Chartered Accountant and CFA (USA). Financial Advisor. Views personal. He could be reached on 9833133605.)

Sweet Support

Correspondent
May 6
2 min read

The Union Cabinet’s decision to raise the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane for the 2026–27 season to Rs. 365 per quintal, based on a 10.25 percent recovery rate, represents a deliberate strengthening of rural incomes and sectoral stability


Aimed at benefiting nearly five crore farmers, it will be a major bounty for farmers in Maharashtra’s sugar-rich western belt. The increase of 2.81 percent over the previous season ensures that cane remains one of the few crops in India offering assured and remunerative returns. With the FRP now more than double the estimated cost of production, farmers are now guaranteed a margin that shields them from market volatility. The provision of Rs. 338.3 per quintal for areas with recovery below 9.5 percent further insulates growers from adverse agro-climatic conditions, underscoring the policy’s redistributive intent.


The FRP is a mechanism and its linkage to sugar recovery rates introduces a degree of economic rationality often absent in agricultural policy. By rewarding higher efficiency while protecting weaker regions, the system aligns incentives across the value chain. The recent insistence, following a Bombay High Court ruling, that mills must pay the FRP in a single instalment rather than staggered payments strengthens this architecture further.


Nowhere does this matter more than in Maharashtra. The western belt of Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara and Pune forms the nerve centre of India’s sugar economy, where cooperative mills double as political institutions. The history of FRP itself is inseparable from agitation and negotiation. Before the FRP regime was formalised, disputes over cane pricing often erupted into protests led by powerful farmer outfits. Leaders such as Raju Shetti built their political careers mobilising cane growers demanding higher procurement prices and timely payments. The shift towards a centrally declared FRP, backed by the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, was in part an attempt to institutionalise these demands and reduce the volatility of annual confrontations.


Even so, echoes of that turbulent past remain. Payment discipline continues to be the sector’s weak link. Despite a statutory requirement that mills clear dues within 14 days, delays are not uncommon. In Maharashtra, around Rs. 1,012 crore in FRP payments remains pending, with total arrears exceeding Rs. 4,200 crore in early 2026. Yet, compared to the protracted standoffs of earlier decades, the system today is markedly more responsive.


Higher FRP translates into improved liquidity for farmers and stronger rural demand. With industry estimates suggesting an additional Rs. 15,000–20,000 crore flowing into the countryside, the multiplier effects will extend well beyond agriculture. In Maharashtra’s cooperative ecosystem, this means greater financial stability for mills, more reliable wage flows for labourers, and renewed confidence in the rural economy.


The policy also dovetails neatly with India’s ethanol ambitions. By sustaining cane production, it ensures a steady feedstock for ethanol blending, offering mills an alternative revenue stream and reducing dependence on volatile sugar prices.

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