Highlights Union Budget 2017-18: Highest ever allocation to MGNREGA at Rs 48,000 crore

India will ramp up spending on rural areas, infrastructure and fighting poverty, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said as he unveiled his annual budget on Wednesday, adding the impact on growth from the government’s cash crackdown would wear off soon. Addressing parliament, Jaitley called his fourth budget one for the poor. Yet, while vowing prudent fiscal management, he also raised his 2017/18 federal deficit target to 3.2 percent of gross domestic product to cover his spending promises. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise decision last November to scrap high-value banknotes worth 86 percent of India’s cash in circulation has hit consumer demand, disrupted supply chains and hurt capital investments. The worst of the cash crunch is now over, however, and Jaitley said he expected it would not spill over into the fiscal year starting on 1 April. A private manufacturing survey on Wednesday showed business was slowly returning to normal. Here are the key takeaways from the Union Budget.  * Highest ever allocation to MGNREGA at Rs 48,000 crore *Merger of Railway Budget with Budget 2017 a historic step * Transform, Energize and Clean India - #TECIndia - our agenda for the next year * Advancement of budget will enable all ministries, departments to operationalize all schemes right from beginning of next fiscal * Demonetisation aims to create a new normal, where the GDP would be bigger, cleaner and real * Effects of demonetisation not expected to spill over to next year * Firmly believe that GST, Demonetisation, built on JAM, will have an epoch-making impact on the lives of our people * Demonetisation aims to create a new normal, where the GDP would be bigger, cleaner and real * Recalls #MahatmaGandhi’s words: A right cause never fails * 3 challenges in current global scenario:Monetary stance of US FED Reserve, Commodity prices specially crude oil & retreat from globalisation * We have moved from a discretionary administration to a policy-based administration * Expectations included burning issues like inflation and price rise, issue of corruption & crony capitalism * Our government was elected amidst huge expectations of people, the underlying theme of expectations being good governance * Hope to resolve all issues regarding GST via consultations * We are moving from informal to formal economy and the government is now seen as a trusted custodian of public money Click here and here to read more on the key takeaways from the Union Budget 2017-18 With inputs from agencies