Before a new government is formed at the Centre, a proactive finance ministry has kicked off preparations for Budget 2009-10, with revenue secretary PV Bhide on Wednesday seeking views of industry chambers. To ensure a smooth budget exercise for the new finance minister, North Block has also begun working on the Economic Survey, and has issued guidelines for preparing the Outcome Budget. Finmin is finalising a schedule of meetings with ministries to review their expenditure estimates for 2009-10.

Presenting a full budget in Parliament will have to be a priority for the new government as the Interim Budget presented by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had only made provisions for the first four months of the fiscal till July 2009. The ministry is hoping that the full budget would be presented by the first week of July.

PM Manmohan Singh on Tuesday held a 15-minute meeting with his economic advisory council chairman Suresh Tendulkar and other economists to seek ways to spur the economy, as the government on Tuesday reported a 2.3% contraction in industrial output in March, the lowest in 16 years.

Bhide, along with officials of the revenue department, met the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci) to discuss its pre-budget memorandum. Bhide is scheduled to hold similar discussions with Assocham on Thursday and the Confederation of Indian Industries on Monday.

Finance ministry officials, however, said only a stock taking exercise is going on, and more discussions with the industry bodies will follow once a new government takes charge. Ficci president Harsh Pati Singhania, who attended the meeting, said, ?Our aim is to stimulate growth by spurring investment and consumer demand. The finance ministry will hold further discussions later on.?

In its meeting with the finance ministry, Ficci has presented a pre-budget wishlist that includes reducing corporate and personal income tax rates to 25%, continuing the excise duty at 8% and service tax at 10% for another year, and retaining tax holidays to housing, power and telecom sectors.

But Singhania acknowledged that there was limited scope for further stimulus since fiscal deficit has ballooned. ?This year, there is a particularly difficult situation, with revenue deficit being there, and I think the government has limited scope for doing things,? Singhania said.

Apart from Singhania, Sail chairman SK Roongta, Marico CMD Harsh Mariwala, Bharti Enterprises vice-chairman & MD Rajan Bharti Mittal, DLF executive director Rajiv Talwar, Ficci secretary-general Amit Mitra were also a part of the delegation.

The industry chamber has suggested the finance ministry to introduce certain measures that would push up investments and bring up the consumer confidence. The new government should reintroduce investment allowance and restore the depreciation rate of 25%, Singhania said.

Amit Mitra said the meeting basically focused on how to revitalise the economy and create consumer and business confidence.