Narendra Modi’s third tenure as Prime Minister is all set to present its eleventh annual Budget consecutively and with this Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, serving her second consecutive term as Finance Minister, will become first Finance Minister to present seven consecutive Union Budgets, surpassing Morarji Desai, who presented six consecutive annual Budget of the Government of India.
Interestingly the Budget will also be the first one in the new Parliament which was inaugurated last September during which the historic Women Reservation Bill was passed.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday approved the proposal for summoning of both Houses of Parliament for the Budget Session, 2024 from July 22, to August 12 and the Union Budget 2024-25 will be presented in Lok Sabha on July 23. This will be the first Budget presented by the Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s NDA third term.
An interim Budget was presented in February ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, which were held in April-June and a Special Session concluded early this week where the new MPs took oath and new Council of Ministers were introduced besides the Presidential address to joint sitting was conducted.
In her address to a joint sitting of Parliament, she had said major social and economic decisions will be a highlight of the Budget.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced Budget Session will be held between July 22 and August 12 and Sitharaman will present the Budget on July 23.
“President of India, on the recommendation of Government of India, has approved the proposal for summoning of both the Houses of Parliament for the Budget Session, 2024 from July 22, 2024 to August 12, 2024 (subject to exigencies of Parliamentary Business).”
Given the key NDA partners — TDP and JD(U) — have shared their demands to the PM and separately to the Cabinet Ministers, including Sitharaman, the Budget is expected to give more weightage on the welfare aspects. Interestingly the crucial portfolios like, finance, home, defence, agriculture, roads and rails are with the BJP.
The Union Budget plays a pivotal role in outlining the government’s economic priorities, fiscal strategies, and expenditure plans for the year ahead. It is keenly awaited by various stakeholders including businesses, investors, economists, and the general public for its implications on economic growth, sectoral allocations, taxation policies, and welfare measures.
Sources said that a series of meetings with various political, social and economical including industrial stakeholders are on the anvil in the next fortnight, a usual practise , before the budget is shaped and prepared. Sources said the Economic Survey will be tabled in both the House — Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha — when the Parliament meets on July 22.
Sitharaman has already met with economists, finance and capital market experts and industry bodies for pre-budget consultations. Sitharaman also chaired a meeting with Finance Ministers of different States and Union Territories towards the end of June to take suggestions for the upcoming Union Budget.
