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There is an old saying " Well begun is half done ". Something similar this budget has announced to ensure BJP has an upper hand in the upcoming General Elections. The Finance Minister has presented a report card on the government performance and announced financial relief of up to Rs. 12,500 to the small taxpayer having taxable income less than Rs. 0.5 million. Certainly, it covers a lot of middle-class voters and a huge vote bank for the upcoming elections. Further, by allowing 2 residential house to be retained as self-occupied house property instead of 1, it will create a demand for the Real Estate sector which has been largely affected by the demonetization and liquidity crises. Small Farmers have been given an assured income of Rs. 6,000 per year having farms less than 2 hectares . With an eye on general elections, the government is out to woo street vendors, rickshaw pullers, construction workers, rag pickers and agricultural workers with what is being touted as one of the world’s biggest pension schemes. Interim finance minister Piyush Goyal on Friday announced Pradhan Mantri Shram-Yogi Maandhan that offers a pension of Rs 3,000 per month after the age of 60 years to unorganised sector workers with a monthly income of up to Rs 15,000. As far as the logistics sector is concerned, there is no direct proposal on the Logi stic Sector but indirectly one may see that with increasing budget allocation to the defence sector, allocation towards inland waterway transport and more disposable income to the middle class will increase the consumption resulting in more trade and more movement of goods. The views expressed by the author are his own views and understanding about the Budget and in case of any query you can contact him at chintan.shah@cshah.in Do you have something to add? Write t o us at tenaz.cardoz@odex.co and we would love to include it in this analysis.