The Novice Writer: Budget 2018 Over-viewed.

Budget 2018

The budget for the financial year 2018-19 was unveiled by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 1st February 2018. This is probably the last budget of the present government. The budget was being looked forward to by lakhs and crores of people all over the country as it was going to be the first budget after the successful implementation of Goods and Services Tax which had established itself as a sensational topic last year, with much discussion amongst each and every citizen of the country. Setting the budget, after one of the major changes made in the way taxes would be paid by the people, was a challenging fiscal situation faced by our respected Finance Minister.

The budget had become a topic of a symposium, not only due to the amendments made but also gained importance in view of the upcoming elections in eight states later in this year. Mr. Jaitley had to manage and maintain the balance between the public demands, economic growth, and the reform our PM – Mr. Modi is focusing on.

No sooner did the budget came out to the public that there was a perturbation in the society. The distress was notably seen in the bourgeois. Proletariats were given quite a benefit due to the reforms brought about by focusing on the rural population and agriculture finance. Eight crore women belonging to the below poverty line families are supposed to be given a new LPG connection; about five thousand crore rupees have been assigned for encouraging self – employment and organization among the rural poor. Post budget when a press conference was organized with Mr. Nitin Gadkari he stated and I quote that, “It is the first time that a budget for Bharat (rural India) has been presented in the Parliament”. He brought to our notice that there have been developments made for the middle-class population of the society as well; he raised the topic of bio-fuel and electric vehicles, with 100% work efficiency as well. He claimed that bringing about such grave changes would be of utmost benefit to the common men (aam aadmi) who would form the majority of the clan using these facilities designed and provided for them by the government. It was evident through his speech as to how impetuous a reaction it was to the opinions provided by the opposition and how the present government should take them positively, thus encouraging healthy politics and smooth governance of the country.

Other major aspects covered in the budget were in the field of digital technology, the development of which is one of the main goals of our present PM – to make India digital; more than eleven thousand crores were allocated to Mumbai railway network and nearly seventeen thousand crores to the Bengaluru metro project. Tourism and social security were also taken into consideration with a great investment in building good infrastructure in the country.

Although the budget faced criticism from the political and bourgeois spectrum, the attempt to bring about progress towards poverty eradication and digital connectivity needs to be appreciated and welcomed with a warm embrace. Jaitley’s management to build such a budget is praiseworthy and it is palpably evident as to how he has kept up with the major agendas planned by our PM to contribute to the current societal needs.

~Jay Mehta