Union Budget: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present her seventh Union Budget as the Monsoon Session of Parliament begins on July 22. This will make her the first Finance Minister to deliver seven consecutive budgets surpassing the previous record of six held by Moraji Desai.
Moraji Desai who served as India’s Finance Minister from 1959 to 1964 set a record by presenting six budgets which includes five full budgets and one interim budget. This year Nirmala Sitharaman will break that record with her seventh consecutive Union Budget. (Also Read: ITR Filing 2024: You can now file ITR using WhatsApp—Step-by-Step Guide Inside)
As continued by the recent trend, Budget 2024 will also be delivered in a paperless format. An Interim Union Budget was already presented on February 1, ahead of the general elections. As part of the budget preparation, the Finance Ministry has completed several rounds of deliberations with different stakeholders of the economy. (Also Read: Union Budget 2024: Time To Further Modernise Agri Sector With Corporate Investments)
These meetings started on June 20, during which Sitharaman met representatives from trade unions, the education and health sectors, employment and skilling, MSMEs, trade and services, industry, economists, the financial sector and capital markets, as well as representatives from the infrastructure, energy, and urban sectors.
During the meetings, economists discussed several critical issues, such as boosting capital expenditure and reducing the fiscal deficit. The group of economists suggested to the ministry that the focus should be on reducing the fiscal deficit in the upcoming budget, along with the need to generate employment growth.
The industry body, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), suggested that the government increase capital expenditure in the upcoming budget. The economists also emphasised the need to enhance capital expenditure.
Farmer associations urged the Finance Minister to enhance the budgetary allocation for the agriculture sector. Representatives from the skilling and employment sectors suggested ways to skill the youth for better utilization of the workforce.
This year's Monsoon Session will have 19 sittings until August 12. The Modi government is expected to present six bills, among which the Aircraft Act and Parliament's nod for the budget of Jammu and Kashmir are prominent.
The government will also present the Finance Bill after the announcement of the budget on July 23. Among the other bills, the disaster management law, the Bhartiya Vayuyan Vidheyak 2024, the Boilers Bill, the Coffee (Promotion and Development) Bill, and the Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill will be tabled in this year's Monsoon Session.
The Bhartiya Vayuyan Vidheyak 2024 will replace the Aircraft Act of 1934 and streamline regulations in the civil aviation sector, aiding industry players in the sector. The interim budget, tabled on February 1, addressed the financial needs of the intervening period until a government was formed after the Lok Sabha polls, after which a full budget was supposed to be presented by the new government in July.
The Union Budget documents will be available on the "Union Budget Mobile App" for hassle-free access to budget documents by Members of Parliament (MPs) and the public. The app is bilingual (English and Hindi) and is available on both Android and iOS platforms. The app can also be downloaded from the Union Budget Web Portal (www.indiabudget.gov.in). (With ANI Inputs)
