Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to Introduce Full Financial plan 2024-25

On July 23, Tuesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will unveil the complete Budget for 2024-25. This will mark her seventh budget presentation and the first of the Modi 3.0 government. The budget is anticipated to advance various economic initiatives aligned with the Viksit Bharat 2047 Vision, while maintaining fiscal responsibility.

Date and Time of Budget Presentation

The comprehensive Union Budget for 2024-25 will be presented in the Lok Sabha on July 23. Sitharaman is scheduled to begin her budget speech at 11 am. This will be her seventh consecutive budget speech, positioning her as India’s second finance minister to achieve this milestone.

How to Watch the Live Stream of the Budget

The presentation of the Union Budget 2024 will be broadcast live on multiple platforms. It can be viewed on CNN-News18 and News18 TV channels, with detailed analysis. Additionally, the budget speech will be live-streamed on the India Budget’s website, Sansad TV, Doordarshan TV channels, and their respective YouTube channels.

Duration of the Budget Speech

The length of the financial plan discourse differs relying upon the financial plan’s intricacy. Sitharaman’s longest spending plan discourse endured 2 hours and 40 minutes in 2020, denoting the longest in India’s set of experiences. Her briefest was the 56-minute discourse for the In-between time Financial plan 2024. The briefest financial plan discourse at any point was by Hirubhai M. Patel, who conveyed a 800-word interval spending plan for 1977-78.

History of India’s Budgets

India’s most memorable Association Spending plan was introduced on April 7, 1860, by James Wilson, who additionally presented personal duty. Post-freedom, the debut Association Financial plan was followed through on November 26, 1947, by R.K. Shanmukham Chetty, the main money priest of autonomous India.

Record Holders in Budget Presentations

C.D. Deshmukh holds the record for presenting the most Union Budgets, with seven during his tenure as finance minister from 1950 to 1956, including an interim one in 1952. Sitharaman is set to join him in this achievement and is also one of India’s longest-serving finance ministers.

Understanding Different Types of Budgets

The full Union Budget addresses the receipts and expenditures for the entire fiscal year, while an interim budget covers a shorter period, usually in an election year. According to Article 112 of the Indian Constitution, the budget is termed the ‘Annual Financial Statement.’ A vote on account, detailed under Article 116, pertains to the government’s short-term expenditures, accommodating delays in passing the Appropriation Bill in Parliament.

Expectations for Budget 2024-25

The Budget 2024-25 is expected to address various societal needs, including income tax relief and growth-boosting measures. India’s tax brackets have not changed since 2012-13. On fiscal consolidation, the government is likely to set a fiscal deficit target of 5% for the full Budget 2024-25, down from 5.1% in the interim Budget, bolstered by increased tax revenues and a surplus transfer of Rs 2.1 lakh crore from the RBI.

Sandeep Vempati, an economist with the BJP, stated, “Given that this is the first budget in the Modi Government’s historic third term, it will be utilized to communicate the economic vision for 2030 and 2047. The Modi Government may use the 0.33% available fiscal space from the higher than expected RBI surplus transfer for pro-growth areas such as increased allocations for RoDTEP, marginally higher capital expenditure, tax cuts, incentives for affordable housing, and promoting MSMEs. Additionally, spending might be directed towards education and healthcare.”