Finance minister Arun Jaitley will present the Union Budget 2018 in Parliament on Thursday, with investors expecting increased spending and a reduction in tax slabs.
In his budget speech, Jaitley is expected to address agriculture distress, unemployment and ways to boost growth in the Indian economy while sticking to fiscal prudence.
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There is also an expectation that the common man may get income tax relief with an increase in the exemption limit.
The Union Budget, in view of upcoming assembly polls in eight states – including three major states ruled by the BJP – and general elections next year, may see new rural schemes and stepping up of funding for existing programmes such as MNREGA, rural housing, irrigation projects and crop insurance.
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Here are the live updates on Union Budget 2018:
*The Budget presentation has been advanced by a month to ensure that proposals take effect from April 1, the beginning of the new financial year.
*Nearly a century-old tradition of having a separate budget for the railways has also been scrapped. It has been merged with the general budget. The Union Budget 2018-19 will be the last full Budget of the BJP-led NDA government before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Source: HindustanTimes