Budget 2018: With long-term capital gains tax, free market ride is over

The mid-and-small-cap segments will be impacted heavily as these two were the main segments where investors made the most money.

The main focus of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, while presenting the Budget 2018, has been on the rural sector and infrastructure development. This was expected from the government in its last full Budget ahead of the general elections scheduled in 2019. 

The assumptions on tax revenues going ahead are reasonable and not aggressive given that the taxpayer base will increase. That said, the fiscal deficit at 3.3 per cent of the GDP (gross domestic product) for 2018–19 is still a challenge. The economy needs to be firing on all cylinders to achieve the set fiscal deficit target. The bond