With the government focussing on themes like rural development and the poor in its union budget today, experts today said these were on 'expected' lines given a election-heavy calendar and overall this annual exercise appears \"mildly disappointing\".

The move is likely to hit investor sentiment as domestic mutual funds had pumped in a staggering over Rs 1 lakh crore in the stock market last year, much higher than over Rs 48,000 crore infused in 2016 and more than Rs 70,000 crore in during 2015.

Long term capital gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh on sale of equity shares/units of Equity oriented Fund are proposed to be taxed at 10% without allowing any indexation benefit, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Lok Sabha  during his Budget speech.

The finance minister is all geared up to introduce Budget 2018. As with all previous Budgets, the country is abuzz with lot of speculations and expectations.

Meanwhile, Sensex and Nifty have logged spectacular rally rising 6.37% (2152 points) and 5.84% (609 points) since the beginning of this year on FII inflows, Q3 corporate earnings and Budget 2018 expectations.

PM Narendra Modi said that Budget 2018-19 has devoted attention to all sectors, ranging from agriculture to infrastructure to healthcare.

Across-the-board selling and volatility have affected sentiments on the Dalal Street today. Traders are also sceptical the government may impose long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax on equities.

In reality, the budget is slightly less important that in any past year since most indirect tax decisions have been subsumed by the GST.

On February 11 2016, the Sensex stood at 22,951. Since then, it has gained nearly 13,000 points, translating into a gain of 56%. The Nifty has gained nearly 4,000 points or 57% from 6,976 since 11 February 2016. The indices which have logged record gains this year will face Narendra Modi government's  last full year Budget on February 1.

After the rollout of GST, significant powers now vest with the GST Council to notify this tax. Keeping that in mind, the upcoming budget is unlikely to foresee any significant amendment in indirect taxes, barring customs duty related proposals.

According to reports on budget expectations, the government is considering to increase the tenure of short term capital gains (STCG) by over 2 years in the Union Budget that will be presented on 1st February 2018.

Gold demand would see a surge during this time as people across the country consider buying yellow metal to be auspicious, especially during Dhanteras.

Equity-linked saving schemes have outshone the regular, diversified equity funds over the past few years

Your financial portfolio helps you reach your financial goals, and as an investor it is imperative to review and rebalance it periodically.

All you need to know about the Budget to realign your finances with the new tax rules.

One more day to go for the Budget 2017. The anxiety level is quiet high this time as this Budget will be the first Budget after demonetisations and people have high expectations from it.