New Delhi [India], Feb 1: Copies of Union Budget 2018 being checked by security inside Parliament premises.With GST taking out manipulation in indirect tax rates for most of the commodities, people's expectations are high in terms of welfare schemes, more relaxation in income tax front, railways and air fare, and policies giving firm push to agriculture and industry. Here is what is expected of Arun Jaitley when he lays down Modi government plan for the next fiscal.

For personal taxes, the expectations are that he would raise the basic exemption from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh, as otherwise even one drawing a little more than the minimum wage of Rs 19,000 per month becomes a taxpayer. During his pre-budget consultations, he was also urged to increase the exempt limit on the medical expenses. Citizens and market watchers are hoping for Budget 2018 to be largely focused on the farming sector and the fiscal deficit as well as on tax sops for the corporate sector and the middle class. This will be the last full-year Budget of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government before the Lok Sabha elections, which are currently scheduled for the summer of 2019.