5 Things to Look Forward to from This Year's Budget
Union Budget 2018-19 is going the be the first budget after the NDA government's GST roll out and last full budget before the nation goes for polls in 2019. Expectations are set high from this Union Budget which Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is scheduled to present on 1st of February 2018, less than 2 weeks from now. Here are 5 things that the common man can look forward from Budget 2018-19:
1. Income Tax Sops
Several income tax sops are expected to be rolled out in Budget 2018, the first one being raising the exemption slab to 3 lakh from the current 2.5 lakh, followed by waiver on interest on education loans and more perks to first time homebuyers, besides restructuring the entire tax slab rate keeping in view inflation, economic growth and purchasing power. Separating Home Loan deductions from Section 80C is also a largely awaited overhaul. Similarly, raising the tax-free gratuity limit from the current Rs 10 Lakhs to Rs 20 Lakhs is highly expected from the FinMin.
2. Job Creation
One of the promises that won 2014 elections for the NDA government was hope of job creation. However, the government is far from its target of creating jobs every year. Being the last budget of its five-year regime, the centre is highly expected to give a blueprint for job creation in the country.
3. Boost to Agriculture
With nationwide protests from farmers, Budget 2018 must address the wailing agriculture sector and boost the overall Indian economy.
4. Skill India
The government had kicked off its Skill India program in 2015, however to make it accessible to masses, the campaign needs more budget allocated to upskill the youth so that it is capable to grab employment opportunities or create the same for others.
5. Minimum Wages
The NDA government took a substantial step towards welfare of the daily wagers by setting the minimum daily wage at ₹350 or ₹9100 monthly. However, given the fact that a large chunk of the population is on daily wages, the labor ministry must double the minimum wage to uplift a sizeable portion of the society and boost economic growth of the country.
Budget 2018: All 11,000 Trains And 8,500 Stations to Get CCTV Cameras; Each Coach Will Have Eight
New Delhi, Jan 22: The railway ministry is procuring 12 lakh CCTV cameras to install in all its trains and stations across the country to ensure better passenger safety. A report said that Rs 3,000 crore will be allocated when the government tables the budget for the fiscal 2018-19.
It is reported that all 11,000 trains– including premier and suburban services– will be fitted with state-of-the-art surveillance systems in the near future. All the 8,500 railway station will also have CCTV cameras installed in their premises. This will be a major development as only 395 stations and 50 trains were equipped with CCTV cameras.
All the major entry points will have the cameras– eight in total. Crucial points in stations will have the cameras as well.
A senior railway ministry official told IANS that all mall mail and premier trains, including Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto and local passenger services, will be equipped with the modern surveillance systems in the next two years. As far as generating funds are concerned, the government may even raise funds from the market if needed– all options are open as of now. (Also read: Budget 2018-19: GST Transitional Credit Scheme Likely to be Extended)
Safety and prevention of accidents is the top priority this year in view of many major accidents in 2017. Providing facilities to passengers is also a focus area. It is expected that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will provision for measures to strengthen safety when he spells out details of Budget 2018-19.
Among the safety measures, Arun Jaitley may make announcements on unmanned crossings and replacing old tracks. The Finance Minister will table the budget in Parliament on February 1.
Why Finance Minister Always Carries a Briefcase on Budget Day
The French Connection
The word Budget is derived from the French word 'Bougette' which means a leather bag, and that's why you'd see every Finance Minister carrying a leather briefcase on the Budget Day. The tradition to carry a bougette started over one and a half century ago, when in 1860, the then Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Chief William Ewart Gladstone carried a red suitcase for his bundle of financial papers with the Queen's monogram embossed in gold over it. Gladstone was known for lengthy budget speeches that required a lot of financial documents and papers; and the Queen herself presented this Budget Box to ease his purpose. The Red Gladstone Budget Box was carried with equal pride since 1860 on every Budget Day until 2010 when the Red Gladstone Budget Box was officially retired in the UK, placed into a museum and replaced by a fresh Red Leather Budget Box.
Britain's Colonial Footprint
So as you now know the history of the Budget aka 'Bougette' in the United Kingdom, Britain's colonial footprint led to this Leather Bag's debut in the Independent India when India's first Finance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty presented India's First Budget on 26th November 1947 and arrived with a leather bag carrying his set of Financial Papers that presented India’s Financial Innings. Apart from India, other British colonies like Uganda, Zimbabwe & Malaysia too follow carrying a briefcase to deliver the budget speech.
Different Strokes
Although FM Shanmukham's Budget Box has not been passed on to his successors; the Indian Finance Ministers have followed this colonial footprint and kept the tradition alive by carrying a briefcase on the budget day. The leather bags and brief cases used have differed in shades in the past, the most interesting being the one carried by President Pranab Mukherjee during the UPA rule when he was the then Finance Minister, he carried a Red Budget Box similar to that of William E Gladstone!