Budget 2018: Education, health cess up to 4 per cent from existing 3 per cent

NEW DELHI: Education and health cess is now up to 4 per cent from the existing 3 per cent, announced Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during the Union Budget 2018. 

The increase was made to an additional Rs 11,000 crore, said the Finance Minister on Thursday.

In other developments, Jaitley announced a series of new moves in the education sector. The government will allocate Rs 1 lakh crore to update the current education infrastructure and technology across the country over the next four years.

The Centre will also set up 24 new medical colleges and relaunch the RISE or Revitalising Infrastructure and Systems in Education by 2022.

While there was no change in personal income tax slab, the Narendra Modi government did provide some relief to the salaried class by a standard exemption of Rs 40,000 in lieu of transport and medical expense.

"The government had made many positive changes in the personal income-tax rate applicable to individuals in the last three years," Jaitley said in his Budget speech.

"Therefore, I do not propose to make any further change in the structure of the income tax rates for individuals."