Budget 2018: Why Arun Jaitley must focus on education, health, nutrition

While the target for household toilets in urban areas was revised downwards to 6.64 million last year, there is still a long way to go in ensuring even universal toilet access

On February 1, 2018, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is all set to present its last full budget before the next general elections to be held in 2019. Expectations and speculations are rife on what this budget will bring for the social sector. A look at the past trends of flagship social sector schemes suggests that while housing, sanitation and rural employment are likely to get a push, the need of the hour is to have a clear strategy and priority for education, health and nutrition.