Budget 2018: Here are 5 important things that can be expected from the last budget of Modi-led BJP government on February 1
A lot of buzz has been going on everywhere since the date of the union budget 2018 is coming near. Union Budget for 2018-19 will be presented on February 1 by Arun Jaitley, the Union Finance Minister of India. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has earlier indicated that the upcoming budget will surely bring a good news for the common man and will be a populist one. However, the reality will only be known when the budget will be announced on the set date.
The Modi-led BJP government has brought about many important changes in the couple of years that also include the financial decissions of demonetisation and implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST). A lot of negative comments were given to the ruling party from the opposition but noting could stop PM Modi from moving forward and doing whatever he wants to do.
There is another important aspect in the Budget 2018 that has to be noticed is that this will be the BJP government's last budget before the Lok Sabha polls that will happen in the year 2019. Keeping this in mind, there will surely be something exciting that can be expected from this year's budget.
Here is a list of 5 expectations that can be made from the Modi government.
1. Budget 2018 to be a populist one
The Budget 2018 will have a direct impact on the politics of the country since states like Karnataka, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh will have polls this year. The government has said that this will be a populist budget inspite of all the flak that the government is facing over matters such as stress in the agricultural sector and many more.
However, Rajiv Kumar who is the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog has earlier said that Union Budget 2018-19 will not be a populist one. He, earlier said, “I can say this with a great deal of confidence. The distinguishing feature of this government and also that of the prime minister is that they have never allowed any budget exercise to be a populist one.”
2. Good news for job seekers
Before the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, PM Modi promised to bring many opportunities and vacancies for the people looking out for jobs but everyone had been complaining about the lack in the job opportunities in the country. In the upcoming budget, it can be expected that Jaitley will shut down all the haters and will bring some good news for the youth.
Ajay Chhibber, the Chief Economic Advisor to FICCI, during an interview to Finacial Express said, “The Modi government should look into job creation as numbers are not that good. If your economy is increasing at 8-9 percent and your labour productivity is growing by 2-3 percent. Then the balance has to be increased in jobs. It may be formal or informal ones. As the economy has slowed down, the rate in which jobs are created has gone down which is needed to be up. Two things that could be done, one is to revive the economy and other is to ensure that it is less capital intensive. This way more works could be spread among the maximum number of people.”
3. Normalizing the GST effect
The Budget 2018- 19 will be the first after the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the country. A little can be expected from the budget regarding the GST rates since the matter related to the pan-India tax regime are taken care by the GST council.
4. Monetary limit for medical reimbursements and allowances of transport to increase
It is also being said that the Budget 2018-19 will bring some good news for all the salaried taxpayers and the limit for the allowances and reimbursements such as Rs 15,000 per annum for medical and Rs 1,600 for transport can be increased.
5. Women empowerment
The Budget 2018- 19 will surely help in the upliftment of the women of the country. It is expected that the government will focus on the triple talaq that is pending in the Rajya Sabha.
First published: 29 January 2018, 13:55 IST
