Finance minister Arun Jaitley is all set to present the Union Budget 2018-19 on Thursday. File photo(With Union finance minister Arun Jaitley all set to unveil his government's last full-year Budget on February 1, Viswanathan Odatt, managing director of AIMS Insurance Broking Private Ltd, takes a look at what the common man expects from the FM.)
Think of families those who are safe. Think of people who are safe. Utmost priority should be given by the nation to fulfil these aims. Majority of the people in India are from the rural belt.
Natural calamities, climatic changes, terrorism, accidents caused by human action etc. are some of the major challenges to ordinary living. Those of us who are living in nuclear families should become self-sufficient regarding safety and protection.
For this reason, the government and the Budget should take initiative to provide various protection schemes for the benefit of all sectors of the population. Policies should be given at higher subsidies to low income groups, low subsidies to middle income groups and actual prices to higher income groups which should be lower than market price.
The insurance schemes for the benefit of the rural sectors should be made free of GST. All people having sources for income should be provided term cover insurance at low rates. To get the real benefits, term cover insurance provided in this manner should be at least 10 times of the income. The risks arising out of natural calamities should be covered by insurance, by means of collecting premium in low rates, in the same manner as tax collection.
The premium payable for these purposes should be exempt from income tax also. The health insurance coverage plans provided at the national level should include all citizens from all sections of the population. This should be declared as a social security scheme and stringent control measures should be introduced for hospital treatment expenses. Medical expenses have an inflation rate of more than 15 percent every year. This should be curtailed by introducing strict regulatory norms.
The term cover amount to provide life insurance, introduced by the Pradhan Manthri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana should ideally have the sum insured increased to at least Rs 5 lakh. The Pradhan Manthri Suraksha Bima Yojana and provided along with this, should have the sum insured fixed at Rs 10 lakh.
The number of elderly population is on the increase every day. Moreover, the vast majority among the aged population are having many diseases from common ailments to critical illnesses. An adequate health insurance plan should be there for the benefit of senior citizen mentioned. It should be fully subsidized also.
Often there are heavy losses due to climatic changes to people engaged in agriculture every year. The measures to implement insurance coverage mentioned are often inadequate. Moreover, in the event of a claim, the companies could not allot the insurance amount in time due to various reasons. The situation is the same, regarding rural insurance policies like cattle insurance also. The people in this sector who get insurance should be given policies totally free from GST and subsidy also should be provided in proportion to their income. All this indicates the necessity to introduce a national policy for insurance protection.
As more people are insured, more benefits and discounts could be given to the premium payable. This must ideally be in the fields of health insurance, term cover insurance, accident insurance, home insurance, climate-based crop insurance and cattle insurance. By this, when there is a natural calamity, health hazard or accident, people will be self-sufficient and their losses will be compensated properly by the insurer. Moreover, they do not have to bear a high financial burden to meet related expenses.
Students have an important role to play in nation building. Many students are in a condition of not being able to continue their studies when their parents lose their lives. To help them recover in such situations, term policies and accident insurance policies are often helpful. Hence it would be ideal to include basic information about insurance protection and finances in school syllabus.
Social security schemes should be included in the rights of the people. Reduction and subsidies should be given depending on the income status of the people. By this, when there is a calamity or hazard, the people do not have to bear heavy losses. Moreover, the government also do not need to spend money on relief measures. The amounts demarcated for reductions and subsidy should be included in the budget. If social security schemes are introduced with the participation of the people, there will not be heavy financial commitment. To build a healthy population and introduce insurance protection for them, they should be made aware of insurance. A safe and healthy population is pride of every nation. Especially, when the world looks at our people, they see a safe environment and people living contently. This must be the aim of our budget this year.
