Budget 2017-18 may turn out to be one of the most trend-setting Budgets to be presented by the National Democratic Alliance government. This is the first time that the Railway Budget has been merged with the Central Finance Budget and there is no distinction between Plan and non-Plan expenditure. This apart, the Budget would be presented on February 1, almost a month earlier than the usual date. Further, preceded by the historic move of demonetisation and expected to be followed by the path-breaking tax reform of goods and services tax (GST), this Budget carries high expectations for both consumers and