Union Budget 2017 will be presented on 1st February

With just 6 days to go for the presentation of Union Budget 2017, there is a sense of excitement and curiosity all across the country. According to reports, the impact of note ban on economic growth, fiscal deficit, and taxes are set to feature prominently in Arun Jaitley’s budget speech of 2017. Notably, this the is first time when Union Budget will be presented on February 1st. Apart from it, Railway Budget will also be presented along with the Union Budget this year.

Here are 5 important things to look for in Budget 2017

Goods and Services Tax: The original deadline of GST which was scheduled in April looks missed out for now, and Finance Minister is widely expected to announce GST implementation schedule in the upcoming budget.

Railways: The railway budget has been merged with union budget from this year. Notably, the government, with the move, has indicated its intentions to talk on the problems of stressed finances and political populism. A combined budget could imply that the Indian Railways can avoid setting aside the funds for dividends around 10,000 crore to the government every year. But this may further increase the burden on Indian passengers as they may have to shell out more from their pocket for travelling from train.

Startups: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley may have some good news for the startups. He is expected to announce some initiatives that would empower startups of the country. The initiatives may include widening of tax –free regime from 3 years to 5 years and faster procedural clearances.

Favourable environment for FDI is expected: The finance minister may put forward the proposal of making favourable environment for foreign direct investors, private equity, and angel investors to ease fund flow to start –ups and small scale businesses.

Demonetisation: Last but not the least, demonetisation will remain the crucial topic of union budget 2017. Amid all the protests against the scrapping of notes, the government is expected to give the final touch to a comprehensive strategy to discourage people from using cash transactions.

Elections and Budget Presentation

Vidhan Sabha elections are due in five states and all the states had filed a petition in Supreme Court for the postponement of the Union Budget, but the apex court has dismissed the petition. According to states, the budget presentation can influence voters. But the court has said that there was no illustration that it would influence voters. So, the budget would be presented on February 1st, 2017.

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