Narendra Modi government's last full budget of 2018 made some key announcements, which were directly related to consumers, such as the National Health Scheme, the long term capital gains tax (LTCG), among others.

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Here's a quick recap of the announcements

National Health Scheme or Ayushman Bharat Scheme: The scheme, also known as Modicare, was launched to accommodate the health insurance with an amount of up to Rs 5 lakh for 10 crore poor families. However, it has been reported that the scheme’s budget has been slashed by at least Rs 800 crore. The ministry of finance agreed to allocate Rs 7,200 crore earlier, but now, due to the pleas by the ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW), the allocation was reduced to Rs 6,400 crore. The ministry in its plea as per the report, said the healthcare scheme was eating into the funds meant for other schemes.

LTCG Tax: The long term capital gains tax was reintroduced in the budget last year after it was slashed in the 2004-05 budget. The government levied a 10 percent tax on profit exceeding Rs 1 lakh made by selling any asset including shares, mutual funds and other shares-oriented schemes. As of yet, a Phillip Capital report said the slippages in the tax were seen in the financial year.

For farmers: Last year, the government increased the minimum support price of all crops by 1.5 times in accordance with the production cost. In the 2019 budget, there have been discussions to introduce a minimum income scheme for farmers. Brokerage houses, among others, have said the minimum income scheme will be able to deliver the support the farmers require.

Saubhagya Yojana: In the 2018 budget, a target of four crore households with electricity connection was announced. According to the data by the power ministry, Saubhagya has connected 2.46 crore homes and 1.43 lakh homes will be connected by the end of March.

Operation Greens: To ease the price volatility of farmers who produce potatoes, onions and tomatoes, the government allocated Rs 500 crore for this scheme. In the case of onions, the prices continued to fluctuate in the off-season. The selling price of the vegetable hit between Rs 30 and Rs 40 in the capital, while at Lasalgaon in Nashik district of Maharashtra, Asia's largest wholesale market for onions, prices rose to between Rs 21 and 22 per kg.

First Published:Jan 30, 2019 12:43 PM IST