Budget 2017...

This year’s budget announcement was started by our FM enumerating the government achievements while admitting that demonetization has transitory effects on the economy's growth rate which is expected to revive in the year 2017 and the budget had increased fiscal-deficit target to 3.2% of GDP. The budget has introduced the concept of TEC-INDIA in order to transform (T), energize (E) and clean (C) the Indian-Economy. He presented an outline of the budget expenditure of Rs 21.40 lakh-crore during next fiscal.  As expected our FM tried to give boost to the rural economy and irrigation with higher allocation of Rs 1, 87, 223 lakh-crore and increased the outlay on infrastructure to Rs 3, 96,135 crore after lower growth estimates following demonetization. The government has increased coverage under Fasal-Bima-Yojna to 40% and also increased allocation of money, FM also repeated his commitment to double famer’s income in five years. The budget also proposed to improve farm or agri credit by asiding Rs 10 lakh crore for the purpose. The budget has increased allocation to MGREGA from Rs 38,500 crore to 48,000 crore and has also increased money for Pradhan-Mantri-Gram-Sadak-Yojna (PMGSY). He proposed to give affordable housing the infrastructure-status in order to channelize more resources and credit and promised to construct 1 crore affordable houses for the poor and the middle-class. The budget has increased its expenditure on skill-development through Kaushal-Vikas-Kendras and has also allocated Rs 2.64 crore for the defence-sector. The government has set aside Rs 10, 000 crore for PSBs recapitalization though not sufficient. In continuation of less-cash objective the government has restricted cash-transactions above Rs 3 lakh and provided Rs 2,500 for improving digital-transactions. The FM has repeated to electrify all villages by March, 2019. This year the Rail-budget had not been presented separately and FM has increased expenditure to Rs 1.31 lakh-crores of which Rs 55,000 crore would be provided by the government. Moreover, the budget has sought to reduce income-tax in the bracket Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh from 10% to 5% and has also imposed a surcharge of 10% on income above Rs 50 lakh.

In short, if we say that the budget has tried to revitalize the economy through its expenditure would not be hyperbole and the FM has made clear that the budget is devoted to the poor and deprived, youth, women and children, rural-economy and schedule-casts and schedule-tribes. The government has attempted to satisfy all by increasing the budget expenditure which seems good when the economy’s spending has been hit by demonetization, the government has increased fiscal-deficit-target by 0.2% which is likely to have an expansionary effect on the economy in terms of growth. The stock-market too saluted the budget by increasing almost 500 points after the budget announcements. The market thinks that the budget is sound given the fiscal-restraints.