The Union Budget 2017-18 has proposed to discontinue the benefit of deduction for investments in the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme (RGESS). The scheme was introduced in the Union Budget of 2012. Currently, the scheme provides tax deductions under section 80CCG of the Income-tax Act, 1961. This deduction is over and above the deduction of Rs1.5 lakh under the familiar section 80C, and is exclusively for investments in the RGESS. The deduction in RGESS will be discontinued from 1 April 2018. The budget document says under the subhead "Rationalization of deduction under section 80CCG",

"Under the existing provisions of section 80CCG, deduction for three consecutive assessment years is allowed upto Rs. 25,000 to a resident individual for investment made in listed equity shares or listed units of an equity oriented fund subject to fulfilment of certain conditions. This deduction was introduced vide Finance Act, 2012. However considering the fact that limited number of individuals availed this deduction and also to rationalize the multiplicity of deductions available under Chapter VI-A of the Act, it is proposed to phase out this deduction by providing that no deduction under section 80CCG shall be allowed from assessment year 2018-19. However, an assessee who has claimed deduction under this section for assessment year 2017-18 and earlier assessment years shall be allowed deduction under this section till the assessment year 2019-20 if he is otherwise eligible to claim the deduction as per the provisions of this section. This amendment will take effect from the 1st April, 2018 and shall accordingly apply in relation to assessment year 2018-19 and subsequent years."