Ahead of today&#39;s budget session Sensex opened at 36,232.48, up by 188.42 points.

Nifty recorded a high of 44.45 points at 11,114.10.&nbsp;

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will be presenting the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/union-budget-2018-all-eyes-on-economic-survey-to-be-tabled-in-parliament-today-31041">Economic Survey</a> later in the day.&nbsp;

The event will precede the presentation of this year&#39;s Budget on February 1.&nbsp;

The Economic Survey is the Finance Ministry&#39;s yearly document that reviews the economic development of the country in the past year.&nbsp;

Nifty recorded a high of 44.45 points at 11,114.10

Ahead of today's budget session Sensex opened at 36,232.48, up by 188.42 points. Nifty recorded a high of 44.45 points at 11,114.10. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will be presenting the Economic Survey later in the day. The event will precede the presentation of this year's Budget on February 1. The Economic Survey is the Finance Ministry's yearly document that reviews the economic development of the country in the past year.

Sensex, Nifty hit record high before economic survey

Ahead of the release of the Union Budget 2018, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor took a jibe at the BJP-led central government.

He targetted the government over unemployment, stagnant agricultural and economy.

Tharoor said &quot; It&#39;s their last budget, naturally they would leave a political message.Our economy isn&#39;t in good shape.They&#39;ll have to do something for farmers, there&#39;s agricultural stagnation. If they want votes, they&#39;ll have to do something about jobs they promised four years ago.&quot;&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
It&#39;s their last budget, naturally they would leave a political message. Our economy isn&#39;t in good shape. They&#39;ll have to do something for farmers, there&#39;s agricultural stagnation. If they want votes, they&#39;ll have to do something about jobs they promised 4 yrs ago: Shashi Tharoor <a href="https://t.co/n2AZbCzDy4">pic.twitter.com/n2AZbCzDy4</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/957673713138245632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

The budget session of the parliament will begin from January 29&nbsp;and it will end on April 6.

The phase 1 of the session will be held from January 29 to February 9. The second phase will take place from March 5 to April 6.

The budget will be tabled by finance minister Arun Jaitley on February 1, making it a first budget to be presented after Goods and Services Tax implementation.

&nbsp;

Tharoor said 'It's their last budget, naturally they would leave a political message.Our economy isn't in good shape.They'll have to do something for farmers, there's agricultural stagnation. If they want votes, they'll have to do something about jobs they promised four years ago'

Ahead of the release of the Union Budget 2018, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor took a jibe at the BJP-led central government. He targetted the government over unemployment, stagnant agricultural and economy. Tharoor said " It's their last budget, naturally they would leave a political message.Our economy isn't in good shape.They'll have to do something for farmers, there's agricultural stagnation. If they want votes, they'll have to do something about jobs they promised four years ago." It's their last budget, naturally they would leave a political message. Our economy isn't in good shape. They'll have to do something for farmers, there's agricultural stagnation. If they want votes, they'll have to do something about jobs they promised 4 yrs ago: Shashi Tharoor pic.twitter.com/n2AZbCzDy4 — ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2018 × The budget session of the parliament will begin from January 29 and it will end on April 6. The phase 1 of the session will be held from January 29 to February 9. The second phase will take place from March 5 to April 6. The budget will be tabled by finance minister Arun Jaitley on February 1, making it a first budget to be presented after Goods and Services Tax implementation.

Union Budget 2018: 'It's their last budget, naturally, they would leave political message' says Tharoor

Ahead of Monday&#39;s Budget Session, the&nbsp;government met leaders of different political parties in Parliament house on Sunday and discussed issues and sought cooperation in the proposed legislation.

The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar, besides leaders of the opposition and other parties.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Pre-Budget Session All-party Meeting underway in Parliament Library Building <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Delhi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Delhi</a> <a href="https://t.co/MdEfIMrtHI">pic.twitter.com/MdEfIMrtHI</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/957589345799581696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar termed the all-party meeting &quot;fruitful&quot; and said that the government will do everything possible to ensure the passage of the bill in the Budget Session.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
PM said budget session is very important &amp; government takes very sincerely the suggestions given about it by opposition during discussion in all party meeting: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar <a href="https://t.co/QYIiMkWqz1">pic.twitter.com/QYIiMkWqz1</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/957596563370422273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
We hope the Triple Talaq Bill is passed in Rajya Sabha too. My colleagues &amp; I will leave no stone unturned in talking to and convincing the political parties. The way they have passed GST unanimously, we request them to pass this too unanimously: Ananth Kumar <a href="https://t.co/Yzi2rlF9fZ">pic.twitter.com/Yzi2rlF9fZ</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/957597565658193925?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

Kanimozhi of DMK also said &quot;we&#39;ll continue to demand that Triple Talaq Bill be referred to select committee for deliberation upon some of its contentious clauses. We&#39;ll also raise Ockhi fishermen issue, NEET issue &amp; Women&#39;s Reservation Bill which has not been listed in the business advisory.&quot;

RJD leader Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav raised issues like unemployment, peace and harmony, violence, Dalit oppression&nbsp;in the meeting.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Unemployment is rising. Peace &amp; harmony is being driven out &amp; violence being spread. Nation&#39;s unity is in danger. From Koregaon to Nandangaon to Buxar, Dalits are being oppressed. We raised these issues. We will also raise issues of farmers suicide: Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav, RJD <a href="https://t.co/j6wrwXFXJJ">pic.twitter.com/j6wrwXFXJJ</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/957600395177570305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

&nbsp;

The budget session of the parliament will begin from January 29&nbsp;and it will end on April 6.

The session will start with President Ram Nath Kovind&#39;s addressing&nbsp;a joint sitting of the two houses.

The much-awaited economic survey will also be presented on the day 1 of the budget session.&nbsp;

The phase 1 of the session will be held from January 29 to February 9. The second phase will take place from March 5 to April 6.

The budget will be tabled by finance minister Arun Jaitley on February 1, making it a first budget to be presented after Goods and Services Tax implementation.

The most important bills of this session would be the&nbsp;commission for backward classes and Triple Talaq bill, which was passed in Lok Sabha but was stalled in the Rajya Sabha.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar, besides leaders of the opposition and other parties

Ahead of Monday's Budget Session, the government met leaders of different political parties in Parliament house on Sunday and discussed issues and sought cooperation in the proposed legislation. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar, besides leaders of the opposition and other parties. Pre-Budget Session All-party Meeting underway in Parliament Library Building #Delhi pic.twitter.com/MdEfIMrtHI — ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2018 × Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar termed the all-party meeting "fruitful" and said that the government will do everything possible to ensure the passage of the bill in the Budget Session. PM said budget session is very important & government takes very sincerely the suggestions given about it by opposition during discussion in all party meeting: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar pic.twitter.com/QYIiMkWqz1 — ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2018 × We hope the Triple Talaq Bill is passed in Rajya Sabha too. My colleagues & I will leave no stone unturned in talking to and convincing the political parties. The way they have passed GST unanimously, we request them to pass this too unanimously: Ananth Kumar pic.twitter.com/Yzi2rlF9fZ — ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2018 × Kanimozhi of DMK also said "we'll continue to demand that Triple Talaq Bill be referred to select committee for deliberation upon some of its contentious clauses. We'll also raise Ockhi fishermen issue, NEET issue & Women's Reservation Bill which has not been listed in the business advisory." RJD leader Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav raised issues like unemployment, peace and harmony, violence, Dalit oppression in the meeting. Unemployment is rising. Peace & harmony is being driven out & violence being spread. Nation's unity is in danger. From Koregaon to Nandangaon to Buxar, Dalits are being oppressed. We raised these issues. We will also raise issues of farmers suicide: Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav, RJD pic.twitter.com/j6wrwXFXJJ — ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2018 × The budget session of the parliament will begin from January 29 and it will end on April 6. The session will start with President Ram Nath Kovind's addressing a joint sitting of the two houses. The much-awaited economic survey will also be presented on the day 1 of the budget session. The phase 1 of the session will be held from January 29 to February 9. The second phase will take place from March 5 to April 6. The budget will be tabled by finance minister Arun Jaitley on February 1, making it a first budget to be presented after Goods and Services Tax implementation. The most important bills of this session would be the commission for backward classes and Triple Talaq bill, which was passed in Lok Sabha but was stalled in the Rajya Sabha.

Budget Session today, government hopeful of passing Triple Talaq bill

Union Budget, also known as the annual financial statement, is a comprehensive display of the Government&#39;s financial outlays and planning -- an event of great economic significance.

Every year the Union Budget is presented by the Finance Minister of the country and is required to be passed by both the Houses to come into effect.

As this year&rsquo;s Budget presentation nears, we take a look at some of the top facts associated with the event.&nbsp;

Change in time of presenting budget

During the colonial era, the finance minister would present the budget on the last working day of February at noon and India would follow the same at 11:00 pm. The practice continued until it was scrapped by former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha in the year 2001. That year the budget was tabled at 11:00 am.

Even the date of presenting the budget was moved to February 1 by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in 2016 with an aim to bring the new budget into effect by the start of the financial year.

The coming together of rail and union budget

The year 2016 was a landmark one in a sense that another practice was modified to merge the presentation of the union budget with the rail budget. Previously, the railway budget was tabled separately, a practice that followed right from the colonial era.

Leaving another colonial-era practice behind in September 2016, the cabinet decided to merge the rail budget with the union budget, as suggested by then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.

The post-independence budget

The first budget of an independent India was presented by India&rsquo;s first finance minister RK Shanmukham Chetty on November 26, 1947. It is believed that RK Shanmukham was chosen as the finance minister by Mahatma Gandhi because of his expertise in the finance.

The first colonial budget

The first budget of colonial India was presented by James Wilson on February 18, 1869.

Wilson was designated as the Finance Member of the India Council that advised the Indian Viceroy.

Maximum number of budget presentations by a finance minister

Morarji Desai, the 4th Prime Minister of India, is known to have tabled the budget 10 times -- the most by any Indian finance minister.

Desai was the only finance minister to have presented the budget on his birthday, February 29.

The first woman finance minister

After Morarji Desai&rsquo;s resignation as the finance minister, Indira Gandhi took over on July 19, 1969 to become the first and the only woman to hold office&nbsp;as finance minister till date.

Halwa ceremony

The printing of the budget starts roughly a week ahead of its presentation in the parliament. The &quot;Halwa ceremony&quot; is a tradition that marks the beginning of the exercises associated with the presentation of the budget.

In the customary tradition, Halwa is made in large quantity and offered to the officers and staff involved in the budget presentation.

The ceremony symbolises the age-old Indian tradition of consuming something sweet right before commencing a new venture or project.

The change in financial year

The government is also considering changing the term of the financial year to bring it in sync with the calendar year. This would enable aligning India with most countries besides institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The change would bring about significant changes in the union budget presentation as well.

However, the government is yet to take a final call on the same.

This year&rsquo;s budget is slated to be presented by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on February 1. PM Modi has already hinted at the possibility that this year&rsquo;s budget will be non-populist in nature.

Every year the Union Budget is presented by the Finance Minister of the country and is required to be passed by both the Houses to come into effect

Union Budget, also known as the annual financial statement, is a comprehensive display of the Government's financial outlays and planning -- an event of great economic significance. Every year the Union Budget is presented by the Finance Minister of the country and is required to be passed by both the Houses to come into effect. As this year’s Budget presentation nears, we take a look at some of the top facts associated with the event. Change in time of presenting budget During the colonial era, the finance minister would present the budget on the last working day of February at noon and India would follow the same at 11:00 pm. The practice continued until it was scrapped by former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha in the year 2001. That year the budget was tabled at 11:00 am. Even the date of presenting the budget was moved to February 1 by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in 2016 with an aim to bring the new budget into effect by the start of the financial year. The coming together of rail and union budget The year 2016 was a landmark one in a sense that another practice was modified to merge the presentation of the union budget with the rail budget. Previously, the railway budget was tabled separately, a practice that followed right from the colonial era. Leaving another colonial-era practice behind in September 2016, the cabinet decided to merge the rail budget with the union budget, as suggested by then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. The post-independence budget The first budget of an independent India was presented by India’s first finance minister RK Shanmukham Chetty on November 26, 1947. It is believed that RK Shanmukham was chosen as the finance minister by Mahatma Gandhi because of his expertise in the finance. The first colonial budget The first budget of colonial India was presented by James Wilson on February 18, 1869. Wilson was designated as the Finance Member of the India Council that advised the Indian Viceroy. Maximum number of budget presentations by a finance minister Morarji Desai, the 4th Prime Minister of India, is known to have tabled the budget 10 times -- the most by any Indian finance minister. Desai was the only finance minister to have presented the budget on his birthday, February 29. The first woman finance minister After Morarji Desai’s resignation as the finance minister, Indira Gandhi took over on July 19, 1969 to become the first and the only woman to hold office as finance minister till date. Halwa ceremony The printing of the budget starts roughly a week ahead of its presentation in the parliament. The "Halwa ceremony" is a tradition that marks the beginning of the exercises associated with the presentation of the budget. In the customary tradition, Halwa is made in large quantity and offered to the officers and staff involved in the budget presentation. The ceremony symbolises the age-old Indian tradition of consuming something sweet right before commencing a new venture or project. The change in financial year The government is also considering changing the term of the financial year to bring it in sync with the calendar year. This would enable aligning India with most countries besides institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The change would bring about significant changes in the union budget presentation as well. However, the government is yet to take a final call on the same. This year’s budget is slated to be presented by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on February 1. PM Modi has already hinted at the possibility that this year’s budget will be non-populist in nature.

Interesting facts about the Union budget

Last August, the finance minister laid before the Parliament the Medium Term Expenditure Framework Statement, envisaging an increase of approximately 10 per cent in the defence budget for the FY 2018-19. This makes it pointless to second-guess whether this time around the government would push the envelope to boost defence manufacturing by making a substantially higher allocation for capital expenditure. The burgeoning revenue expenditure makes it virtually impossible to do so anyway.

&nbsp;

Every year, a lot of energy is spent by defence analysts before the presentation of the Union Budget in underscoring the need for a substantial increase in the outlay for defence. The rationale put forth is that it will beef up the combat capability of the armed forces. There has been a persistent demand to increase the defence budget to 3 per cent of the gross domestic product.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

While the security concerns are legitimate, unrealistic expectations concerning substantially higher allocations invariably result in disappointment after the presentation of the budget. The heartbreak spawns narratives of politico-bureaucratic apathy towards the imperatives of defence preparedness. This familiar scenario seems to be playing out this time also.

&nbsp;

While we can rarely argue that there is no need for a higher allocation, it has to be realised that it is possible only if the government&rsquo;s revenue goes up steeply. The finance minister&rsquo;s options for raising the government&rsquo;s revenue in any substantial measure are limited, especially after the onset of the GST regime. He can now tinker only with the direct taxes or raise revenue through other means, such as disinvestment.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

With a very limited tax base in India, there is nothing much that the finance minister could do to boost the revenue receipts through changes in the direct taxes. The coming budget being the last regular budget to be presented by this government before the 2019 general elections, there is no way he can raise the taxes or levy a defence surcharge.

&nbsp;

This electoral compulsion, however, does not apply to disinvestment. Going by the experience of the sale of 5 per cent stake sale in the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) last year, which was oversubscribed 3.6 times by the retail investors, there is a wide scope for tapping this source for revenue generation.

&nbsp;

But BEL remains a solitary shining example. More than five years ago, a similar attempt was made in respect of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) - another flagship defence public sector undertaking. But it has not produced any result. It will not be unreasonable to expect that the finance minister will lay down a more definitive roadmap for disinvestment in HAL and other undertakings and announce other policy changes necessary to ensure that the targets are achieved.

&nbsp;

The defence sector must benefit from the disinvestment in the undertakings that are under the administrative control of the ministry of defence. For that to happen, at least a portion of the revenue raised through disinvestment, and credited to the Consolidated Fund of India will have to be transferred to a sector-specific fund for the modernisation of the manufacturing infrastructure, technology development and innovation in the defence sector.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

This fund could subsume the Defence Technology Fund which is presently struggling to take off. Appropriation from this fund should be related to specific outcomes and, it goes without saying, that the fund will have to be professionally managed. An announcement by the finance minister, looking at the modality of creating such a fund could go a long way in energising the largely dormant &lsquo;Make in India&rsquo; initiative. The private sector companies could borrow from this fund for technology development under &lsquo;Make II&rsquo; category wherein the cost of prototype development is to be funded by the industry itself.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

This could well turn out to be wishful thinking at this juncture but a more realistic expectation from the budget would be announcement of policy initiatives that make the cost of capital more affordable for the private sector in India, especially for the micro, small and medium enterprises. There is apparently an issue regarding eligibility of the defence industry under the priority sector lending scheme of the Reserve Bank of India. It remains to be seen if this problem gets addressed in the budget.

&nbsp;

The budget speech is not meant to expatiate on the defence policy but over the past four years, the finance minister has been mentioning several issues, ranging from the one-rank-one-pension to development of a centralised defence travel system to facilitate the online booking of travel tickets by the armed forces personnel in his speech. These issues are important in their own right but do not holistically address the most critical issue of acquisition of defence capabilities.

&nbsp;

One of the fundamental causes of this unsatisfactory state of affairs is tardy decision making in the ministry of defence which either stymies the procurement and infrastructure development projects or results in time and cost overruns.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Last year, a committee set up by the ministry had recommended setting up of a dedicated defence acquisition organisation, free from the bureaucratic stranglehold of the ministry. It will steer the entire process from formulating qualitative requirements, identified by the armed forces and based on the operational needs, till the delivery of the requisite capability. The scheme, however, requires the approval of the government.

&nbsp;

It would make the upcoming budget stand out if the finance minister announces the government&rsquo;s resolve to go ahead with the setting up of this organisation.&nbsp; Moreover, the government needs to make it responsible for the optimum utilisation of the capital outlay, a portion of which remains underutilised, every year, under the present scheme of things.

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

The burgeoning revenue expenditure makes it virtually impossible to make a substantially higher allocation to boost defence manufacturing.

Last August, the finance minister laid before the Parliament the Medium Term Expenditure Framework Statement, envisaging an increase of approximately 10 per cent in the defence budget for the FY 2018-19. This makes it pointless to second-guess whether this time around the government would push the envelope to boost defence manufacturing by making a substantially higher allocation for capital expenditure. The burgeoning revenue expenditure makes it virtually impossible to do so anyway. Every year, a lot of energy is spent by defence analysts before the presentation of the Union Budget in underscoring the need for a substantial increase in the outlay for defence. The rationale put forth is that it will beef up the combat capability of the armed forces. There has been a persistent demand to increase the defence budget to 3 per cent of the gross domestic product. While the security concerns are legitimate, unrealistic expectations concerning substantially higher allocations invariably result in disappointment after the presentation of the budget. The heartbreak spawns narratives of politico-bureaucratic apathy towards the imperatives of defence preparedness. This familiar scenario seems to be playing out this time also. While we can rarely argue that there is no need for a higher allocation, it has to be realised that it is possible only if the government’s revenue goes up steeply. The finance minister’s options for raising the government’s revenue in any substantial measure are limited, especially after the onset of the GST regime. He can now tinker only with the direct taxes or raise revenue through other means, such as disinvestment. With a very limited tax base in India, there is nothing much that the finance minister could do to boost the revenue receipts through changes in the direct taxes. The coming budget being the last regular budget to be presented by this government before the 2019 general elections, there is no way he can raise the taxes or levy a defence surcharge. This electoral compulsion, however, does not apply to disinvestment. Going by the experience of the sale of 5 per cent stake sale in the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) last year, which was oversubscribed 3.6 times by the retail investors, there is a wide scope for tapping this source for revenue generation. But BEL remains a solitary shining example. More than five years ago, a similar attempt was made in respect of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) - another flagship defence public sector undertaking. But it has not produced any result. It will not be unreasonable to expect that the finance minister will lay down a more definitive roadmap for disinvestment in HAL and other undertakings and announce other policy changes necessary to ensure that the targets are achieved. The defence sector must benefit from the disinvestment in the undertakings that are under the administrative control of the ministry of defence. For that to happen, at least a portion of the revenue raised through disinvestment, and credited to the Consolidated Fund of India will have to be transferred to a sector-specific fund for the modernisation of the manufacturing infrastructure, technology development and innovation in the defence sector. This fund could subsume the Defence Technology Fund which is presently struggling to take off. Appropriation from this fund should be related to specific outcomes and, it goes without saying, that the fund will have to be professionally managed. An announcement by the finance minister, looking at the modality of creating such a fund could go a long way in energising the largely dormant ‘Make in India’ initiative. The private sector companies could borrow from this fund for technology development under ‘Make II’ category wherein the cost of prototype development is to be funded by the industry itself. This could well turn out to be wishful thinking at this juncture but a more realistic expectation from the budget would be announcement of policy initiatives that make the cost of capital more affordable for the private sector in India, especially for the micro, small and medium enterprises. There is apparently an issue regarding eligibility of the defence industry under the priority sector lending scheme of the Reserve Bank of India. It remains to be seen if this problem gets addressed in the budget. The budget speech is not meant to expatiate on the defence policy but over the past four years, the finance minister has been mentioning several issues, ranging from the one-rank-one-pension to development of a centralised defence travel system to facilitate the online booking of travel tickets by the armed forces personnel in his speech. These issues are important in their own right but do not holistically address the most critical issue of acquisition of defence capabilities. One of the fundamental causes of this unsatisfactory state of affairs is tardy decision making in the ministry of defence which either stymies the procurement and infrastructure development projects or results in time and cost overruns. Last year, a committee set up by the ministry had recommended setting up of a dedicated defence acquisition organisation, free from the bureaucratic stranglehold of the ministry. It will steer the entire process from formulating qualitative requirements, identified by the armed forces and based on the operational needs, till the delivery of the requisite capability. The scheme, however, requires the approval of the government. It would make the upcoming budget stand out if the finance minister announces the government’s resolve to go ahead with the setting up of this organisation. Moreover, the government needs to make it responsible for the optimum utilisation of the capital outlay, a portion of which remains underutilised, every year, under the present scheme of things. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Why Defence Sector has no high expectation from Union Budget

union-budget-2018

Union Budget 2018, News on Union Budget 2018, stories on Union Budget 2018, articles on Union Budget 2018, Union Budget 2018 stories at Wion, Union Budget 2018 news, Union Budget 2018 latest news

union budget-2018

Sensex, Nifty hit record high before economic survey

Union Budget 2018: 'It's their last budget, naturally, they would leave political message' says Tharoor

Budget Session today, government hopeful of passing Triple Talaq bill

Interesting facts about the Union budget

Opinion: Why Defence Sector has no high expectation from Union Budget