Budget 2018: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before 2017 budget presentation.
New Delhi: Union Budget 2018-19 will be Narendra Modi government's fifth and last full-fledged budget presentation before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. While the budget session of parliament will begin from January 29, the Union Budget will be presented on February 1 around noon. This year's budget session is crucial as it comes after the Modi government made two very big financial decisions in the last couple of years - Demonetisation and implementation of the Goods and Serives Tax (GST). Eyes will be set on Mr Jaitley's briefcase and what comes out from it in Budget 2018.
Here's a look at expectations from Union Budget 2018-19:
- To give a boost to domestic manufacturing and its 'Make In India' programme, the government is expected to increase import duty on certain items related to power, capital goods and chemicals sectors, sources say.
- Health care industry is expecting a better role for private sector in the country's health system, a boost to the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) will also help, industry leaders say. Structured tax benefits, high investment in the diagnostics sector, better budget allocation for primary health centres are some of the demands from the health industry. Private healthcare players are also expecting that medical insurance coverage in the country will be strengthened in the Union Budget 2018-19.
- To improve credit flow in the agriculture sector, the farm credit target is expected to be raised by Rs 1 lakh crore to a record Rs 11 lakh crore, sources say.
- FMCG players (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) expect the government to make labour markets more attractive and resume stalled infrastructure projects to create more jobs across sectors. They have pitched for policies that focus on rural markets to reverse slide in wages, create more jobs and reduce personal tax slabs to give more purchasing power to the consumers. The industry has also sought incentives for setting up warehousing and cold chain facilities and efforts to increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the sector.
- Rating agency Icra in a pre-budget report said that it is expected from Union Budget 2018-19 to make policy measures and give a stimulus to the agricultural sector - on irrigation, crop insurance and agricultural credit to help cash-starved fertiliser players.
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