The Union Budget 2018 is almost there. It will be released on Feb 1st, 2018 by the Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, in the parliament. Everybody is eyeing on the news related to the India budget. Let us talk everything about Union Budget news.
The preparations for the Union Budget for the financial year 2018-19 are already done. The Finance Ministry has also generated a Budget circular to all the nodal Ministries that contains a list of the norms and rules related to the need for the funds. One of the key points the Finance minister is going to address is the generation of non-tax revenue. In a statement, the Finance Ministry says “There would be a specific discussion on the non-tax revenue mobilized by the Ministry or Department and its potential to generate it, and this will be duly considered while finalizing the Budget allocation,”.
This Budget for the year 2018-19 is much talked about as it is anticipated to be the last full-fledged one by the NDA government before the commencement of the elections in the year 2019. It is also an important one because it is the first after the launch of goods and services tax (GST). It might reframe the Centre’s Budgeting procedures.
The Finance minister along with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have come to a consensus on how much will be spent on infrastructure, agriculture, hospitals, needy like poor and rural people, how to improve education and employment, what to do of the environment, etc.
The FM has committed to making sure of the cost-effective fund utilization of the welfare schemes across all the sectors to happen. The finance minister strongly believes in the greater allocation of funds for schemes like child protection and nutrition security. The other focus areas to find its mention in the Union budget is a better quality of government schools, a better healthcare facility for the elderly, a better employment to the youth of the country, better working culture for the working mothers, streamlining the vocational training to boost employment, better labor laws, etc.
FM also wishes to seek more private investments because when the private investment comes along with the public and foreign investment, it will be an exponential growth for the country which will also lead to creating more job opportunities for the youth. This is the reason why the government has set up National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). It is a body to take care of the investment in infrastructure sector.
The budget makes will also indulge in the cost benefit analysis for all the environmental, social and economic benefits of a policy, translating into monetary form. This process leads to a better decision-making ability and a better transparency. In fact, this kind of approach must be adopted by every state of every country. When the budget is impending, this cost benefit analysis can play an important role in shaping the future of the country because it helps solve the different existing problems and national challenges in an effective way.
