Union Budget 2018 Highlights : Complete Analysis With Full Explanation

Dear Aspirants,

I hope that this budget will be beneficial for you all. This will be the last full Union Budget to be presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the session of Parliament and it will be unlike his previous four such exercises because of the complete overhaul of the indirect tax regime affected by implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) last year.

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Highlights of Union Budget 2018-19

After the GST is implemented, the Modi government has presented the country’s general budget in the Lok Sabha on Thursday (February 1st). Know the special special highlights of this budget.

According to the FM in the Union Budget, India is expected to become the fifth largest economy very soon.
The Growth rate is expected between 7.2-7.5% in the second half of 2017-18.
As per the FM, India is a Rs2.5 trillion economy.
Minimum Support Price(MSP) to increase at least 1.5 times that of production cost.
Minimum Support Price (MSP) of all crops shall increase to at least 1.5 times that of the production cost.
Exports are expected to grow 15% in 2018.
Our focus is on productive and gainful on-farm and non-farm employment for farmers and landless families, says Jaitley.
The government will set up a fund of Rs 2,000 crore for developing agricultural markets.
As per the FM, Agriculture Product Market Committees(APMCs) will be linked with e-NAM(National Agriculture Market).
The government will develop 22,000 Gramin agricultural markets.
The cluster-model approach will be adopted for agricultural production.
Allocation in food production sector doubled to Rs 1400 crore.
Minimum Support Price shall be increased by 1.5 times. Operation Green will be launched for agriculture and the Minister allocates Rs 500 crore for this.
Agricultural corpus worth Rs 2000 crore will be set up. 470 APMCs have been connected to eNAM network, the rest to be connected by March 2018.
A fund for the fishery, aquaculture development and animal husbandry will be set up with a total corpus to be Rs 10,000 crore. We will also allocate Rs 1290 crore for a bamboo mission, as it is green gold.
In all, we are providing Rs 10 lakh crore to Rs 11 lakh crore as credit for agricultural activities.
Jaitley proposes to increase the target of providing free LPG connections to 8 crore to poor women.
Ujjwala Yojana, the free LPG connection scheme expanded to eight crore households.
Six crore toilets have been built already, and in the next year, two crore additional toilets will be constructed.
The government will provide 4 crore electricity connections to the poor under Saubhagya Yojana.
Kisan credit card to be extended to fisheries,animal husbandry farmers.
The government will establish a dedicated affordable housing fund.
Loans to self-help groups will increase to Rs 75,000 crore.
Govt. allocated Rs 5,750 crore to National Livelihood Mission and Rs 2,600 crore to the groundwater irrigation scheme.

Education and Health, Scheme Related Discussion

Ayushman Bharat program discussed.
Eklavya schools for tribal children.
24 new government medical colleges.
Government is implementing a comprehensive social security scheme.
Govt. will initiate an integrated B-Ed programme for teachers.
Government proposes to launch the Revitalising of Infrastructure and Systems of Education (RISE) by next year.
Govt. proposed to set up two new full-fledged schools of planning and architecture.
18 new schools of planning and architecture will be set up in the IITs and NITs.
Rs. 1 lakh crore over 4 years for initiative for Infrastructure Development in education.
2 major initiatives as part of Ayushman Bharat program.
Eklavya schools to be open for tribal children.
National health protection scheme to cover 10 cr poor families. Health cover of up to 5 lakh per family per year for poor & vulnerable. National health protection scheme to benefit 50 crore people.
24 new govt medical college & hospitals.
Rs. 600 crore for nutritional support to all TB patients.
Rs. 1200 crore for health and wellness centres.
Loans to women self-help groups of women to be increased to 75,000 cr by March 19.
Govt. is launching a new national health protection scheme – Rashtriya Samaj Beema Yojana(RSBY). This will have 50 crore beneficiaries and 10 crore families will get 5 lakh per year for their families to cover secondary and tertiary hospital expenses. This is the world’s largest government-funded healthcare program.
A Rs 600 crore corpus is being set up to help Tuberculosis patients. This will build a new India in 2022 and enhance productivity and will also generate lakhs of jobs for women.
PM Jeevan Beema Yojana benefitted more than 2 crore families.
Jan Dhan Yojana will be extended to all 60 crore bank accounts.
By 2022, every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal people will have ‘Ekalavya‘ school at par with Navodaya Vidyalas.
The government will announce measures to address non-performing assets of MSMEs.
As per the FM, Rs. 3 lakh crore for lending under is being allocated in FY 19 for PM’s MUDRA Yojana.

Smart City Mission and AMRUT Related Discussion

Smart city command control centre discussed.
Govt to contribute 12% of wages of new employees to EPF for 3 yrs.
Rs. 7148 crore allocation for the textile sector.
Govt. will launch a scheme for Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan (GOBARDHAN).
Under the Smart City mission, 99 cities selected with the outlay of Rs. 2.04 lakh crores.
EPF contribution has been reduced to 8% for the first 3 years of employment and 12% government contribution to EPF in sectors employing a large number of people, however, there will be no changes in employer contribution.

Development Related Discussion

10 tourist cities to be developed into iconic tourist destinations.
600 railway stations to be redeveloped.
Over 3600 km railway track renovation targeted in the current year.
Scheme for revitalizing school infrastructure, with an allocation of 1 lakh crore rupees over four years. Called RISE – Revitalizing Infrastructure in School Education.
The Bharatmala project has been approved and we are confident of completing 9000 km of highway construction.
In Railways, 18,000 kms of doubling of tracks would eliminate capacity constraints.
We are moving towards optimum electrification of railway. Over 3,600 km of track renewal is being targeted in 2018-19.
150 km additional suburban railway network at the cost of Rs. 40,000 cr.
Regional air connectivity scheme shall connect 56 unserved airports.
Airport capacity to be hiked to handle 1 billion trips per year.
Training for 50 lakh youth by 2020.
Customs duty increased on mobile phones from 15% to 20%.

Which items get cheaper with Budget 2018?

With the announcement of Union Budget 2018-19, cashew nuts and solar panels are set to become cheaper.
Machinery used to decrease air pollution, chromite, and ball screws will also become cheaper.
Furthermore, raw materials, parts or accessories used in making surgical implants that help the deaf have also become cheaper.

Why do Finance Ministers carry a briefcase on Budget day?

The tradition of carrying a briefcase on Budget day was adopted from the British, who have been carrying ‘Budget Box’ since 1860.
The word ‘budget’ is derived from the French word ‘bougette‘, which means ‘small bag’.
In India, the tradition was established by first Finance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty, who carried a briefcase for the first budget speech in 1947.

How is the Union Budget kept secret before being presented?

The Budget is printed at the North Block’s basement in Delhi, where over hundred officials are locked for over a week with no social interaction till the Finance Minister presents the Budget.
A single phone is available on which the families of officials can leave messages.
Electronic jammers are installed ensuring that no information is leaked using mobile phones.

What is in the Budget 2018 for women?

While presenting the Budget 2018, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced that 8 crore poor women would be provided with free LPG connections.
He also announced that women’s contribution to EPF will be reduced to 8% for first three years and that loans to women Self Help Groups (SHGs) increased to about ₹42,500 crore in 2016-17, growing 37% over previous year.

Who was the man behind India’s first-ever Budget in 1860?

The first Indian Budget was presented by the founder of ‘The Economist‘ magazine James Wilson on February 18, 1860.
Wilson presented the Budget in his capacity as the Member (Finance) of the India Council that advised the Viceroy of India.
The Scottish hatmaker had also founded the Chartered Bank in 1853.

Who are the winners and losers in the 2018 Budget?

The Union Budget 2018 makes farmers, villagers, and the companies with exposure to agriculture the biggest winners.
Healthcare, transport and consumer goods companies are also expected to benefit from the Budget.
Meanwhile, consumers, bond investors, financial sector, and defence sector have emerged as the losers in the BJP-led government’s last full Budget before the 2019 general elections.

Funding cut for 16 govt schemes, boosted for 59 schemes

In the 2018 Union Budget, the government cut funding for 16 schemes, including Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and the National Health Mission.
The government boosted funding for 59 schemes such as the crop insurance scheme and the umbrella scheme for development of Scheduled Castes.
Meanwhile, funding for the Higher Education Financing Agency was boosted by 11 times.

99 cities selected under Smart Cities Mission in 2018 Budget

Presenting the 2018 Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that ₹2.04 lakh crore has been allocated to develop 99 cities under the Smart Cities Mission.
He added that projects worth ₹2,350 crore have been completed and projects costing ₹20,852 crore are in progress.
The budgetary and extra-budgetary expenditure for infrastructure sector was increased to ₹5.97 lakh crore.

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Union Budget 2018 Highlights : Complete Analysis With Full Explanation