Budget 2024 Highlights: What happened in crucial pre-budget meet with state leaders?

At JK Lakshmi Cement, we eagerly anticipate the Union Budget 2024 to further propel India‘s development initiatives. As a key player in the construction materials domain, we hope the government will prioritize robust budgetary allocations and policy measures to bolster projects across the country. We welcome the Government of India’s commitment to fostering growth, sustainability, and inclusivity. The significant increase in infrastructure outlay to INR 11.11 lakh crores and the emphasis on green growth demonstrate the government’s pursuit of economic excellence. – Arun Shukla, President and Director, JK Lakshmi Cement

Nirmala Sitharaman, continuing as Finance Minister in the new NDA government to maintain policy consistency, will present the budget, detailing the government’s economic plans.

The Finance Ministry announced on Thursday that the 53rd meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council will take place in New Delhi today, i.e., on June 22. This meeting may provide the Centre with a chance to consult states on the upcoming Union Budget for 2024-25.

Nearly nine months after its last gathering, the Center has scheduled a meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council today. This meeting is expected to focus on important topics such as taxation of online gaming, tax rules for corporate guarantees, and how companies handle share reimbursements to employees.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the fourth pre-Budget consultation in New Delhi, engaging with representatives from farmer associations and agriculture economists. The meeting was also attended by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Finance Secretary TV Somanathan, Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, and senior officers from the Agriculture Ministry.

On Wednesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the first pre-Budget consultations with leading economists for the upcoming General Budget 2024-25. The meeting included Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, the finance secretary, and secretaries from the departments of economic affairs, revenue, financial services, and corporate affairs, as well as the chief economic adviser. Economist Ashwani Mahajan commented to PTI, “We have held the first pre-budget meeting. Top economists from across the nation attended the meeting and gave their suggestions about the budget.”

Just a day after Nirmala Sitharaman formally assumed charge as the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, the government announced that the 53rd GST Council meet will be held on June 22, 2024 in New Delhi. “The 53rd meeting of the GST Council will be held on 22nd June, 2024 at New Delhi,” the official handle of GST Council on X, had stated.

On Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presided over the third pre-Budget consultation with industry leaders and associations in New Delhi, in preparation for the upcoming General Budget 2024-25.

The full Budget for FY25 will be presented in the third week of July, per sources, coinciding with the Monsoon Session of the Parliament. On February 1, 2024, the BJP Government had presented the Interim Budget, which is technically a vote on account ahead of the elections to take care of Govt expenses in the interim till a new Government is voted to power. This happens every 5 years or when the existing Govt is dissolved and elections are held for a new Government.

According to the data released by the Ministry of Finance, the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) collection stood at Rs 32,409 crore. The State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) was at Rs 40,265 crore. Meanwhile, Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) was at Rs 87,781 crore, including Rs 39,879 crore collected on imported goods.

For the full FY25 so far, the ministry collected CGST of Rs 76,255 crore and SGST of Rs 93,804 crore. IGST for FY25 so far came in at Rs 1,87,404 crore, including Rs 77,706 crore collected on imported goods.

According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Finance, GST collections during the month of May 2024 came in at Rs 1.73 lakh crore, 10 per cent higher than the same period last year. For April, GST collection had breached the Rs 2 lakh crore milestone. The gross GST collection during April was recorded at Rs 2.10 lakh crore, up 12.4 per cent on-year.

The 52nd GST Council meeting was held on October 7, 2023, and was presided over by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. In this meeting, the GST Council had announced the imposition of 28% levy on online gaming, casinos, and horse racing. Later in the March GST meeting, the council had postponed the review of the levy imposed on the proceeds from online gaming.

Just a day after Nirmala Sitharaman formally assumed charge as the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, the government announced that the 53rd GST Council meet will be held on June 22, 2024 in New Delhi. “The 53rd meeting of the GST Council will be held on 22nd June, 2024 at New Delhi,” the official handle of GST Council on X, had stated.

After the finance minister held a pre-Budget consultation meeting with industry leaders and associations, Subhrakant Panda, Immediate Past President, FICCI, emphasized the need to continue supporting the growth momentum by energizing demand, laying thrust on infrastructure development, taking further measures to rein in food inflation, supporting MSMEs and prioritizing innovation and research & development in the country. “We look forward to a prudent budget that builds upon the strengths of the Indian economy for accelerated growth and remains committed to fiscal consolidation,” he added. Highlighting the importance of simplification of the tax system, Subhrakant Panda said, “The Union Budget 2024-25 should continue the process of simplification and rationalization of taxes for enhancing ease of doing business. This will also reduce tax related litigations and improve efficiency in the taxation system.”

The finance minister held a pre-Budget consultation meeting with industry leaders and associations. After the meeting, PHDCCI suggested 10 reforms to strengthen India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat. These included: 1) Further reforms to enhance the manufacturing share in GDP to 25 per cent by 2030; 2) Expand the PLI scheme beyond the 14 sectors; 3) Change in Classification Norms of MSMEs for NPAs from the 90 days limit to 180 days; 4) Rationalization of direct taxes for the middle class; 5) Focus more on tier 2 and 3 cities with state of the art infrastructure and smart villages with adequate facilitation of public utilities; 6) Status quo on the corporate tax rates; 7) Strengthen University-Industry Linkages to enhance R&D activity in the country; 8) Reduce costs of doing business including costs of capital, costs of power, costs of logistics, costs of land and costs of compliances; 9) Implement the four labour codes across the states to enhance the competitiveness of the industry; and 10) Strengthen supply chains and address the shortages in key food items to mitigate inflationary pressures.

After Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held the pre-Budget consultation meeting with the leading experts of the financial and capital markets sector, Indian Venture and Alternative Capital Association (IVCA), the apex industry body for alternative assets in India, said that it focused on fostering a more enabling regulatory environment to propel the growth of the alternative asset industry in India.

IVCA made suggestions to mainstream AIF investments and encourage and enable large domestic capital pools of insurance and pension funds to participate in the AIF industry to finance Infrastructure, credit and start-ups, scale-ups & growth companies. IVCA also urged the government to operationalise the 2022 budget announcement of blended finance as well through a Fund of Funds approach managed by competent managers for directing capital to strategies which are in alignment with govt priorities.

Following the meeting with FM Nirmala Sitharaman, Nilesh Shah, MD, Kotak Mahindra AMC, said, “We thanked the Honourable Finance Minister and the Finance Ministry team for the great work done by them which has made the Indian economy the fastest growing major economy and our equity market one of the best performing markets. I shared with the Honourable Finance Minister that under the aegis of our regulator SEBI, mutual funds have spread financial awareness. We have enlisted more than 4 crore Indians to participate in the journey of Viksit Bharat and secure their financial freedom. We need to reach out to far more Indians now to secure their financial freedom. We requested Honourable FM to launch a Jan Nivesh campaign to create financial inclusion for crores of Indians who are stuck in Ponzi schemes and speculations. Let Indians become Financially Independent by participating in the journey of Viksit Bharat.”

On Wednesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the first pre-Budget consultations with leading economists in connection with the forthcoming General Budget 2024-25. The meeting saw the presence of Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, the finance secretary, secretaries of the departments of economic affairs, revenue, financial services and corporate affairs and the chief economic adviser. Talking about the meeting, economist Ashwani Mahajan told PTI, “We have held the first pre-budget meeting. Top economists from across the nation attended the meeting and gave their suggestions about the budget.”

On Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held the second pre-Budget consultation meeting with leading experts of the financial and capital markets sector. The pre-Budget consultation meeting was attended by Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Finance Secretary and Secretaries of Department of Expenditure; Departments of Economic Affairs, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), Revenue of Department of Financial Services (DFS), and Corporate Affairs and Chief Economic Adviser.

On Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the third pre-Budget consultation with industry leaders and associations in connection with the forthcoming General Budget 2024-25 in New Delhi.

On Friday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the fourth pre-Budget consultation with representatives from Farmer Associations and Agriculture Economists, in New Delhi. The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, Finance Secretary TV Somanathan, Chief Economic Adviser, V Anantha Nageswaran, Secretary Department of Economic Affairs and senior officers from the Agriculture Ministry.

According to sources, the Monsoon Session of Parliament is expected to begin on July 22 and it is likely to continue till August 9.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is also expected to table the Union Budget for the financial year 2024-25 during the Monsoon Session. It will also likely cover the oath/affirmation of newly elected members, the election of the speaker, the President’s address, and subsequent discussions.

Soon after Nirmala Sitharaman took charge as the Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister of the newly formed NDA government, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs announced that the first session of 18th Lok Sabha will be held from June 24, 2024 to July 3, 2024. This session, it added, will witness oath/affirmation of the newly elected members of the Lok Sabha, election of Speaker, address of the President of India and the discussion thereon, the release stated.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had posted on X, “First Session of 18th Lok Sabha is being summoned from 24.6.24 to 3.7.24 for oath/affirmation of newly elected Members, Election of Speaker, President’s Address and discussion thereon. 264th Session of Rajya Sabha will commence on 27.6.24 and conclude on 3.7.24.”

With the presentation of the Union Budget for 2024-25 in the third week of July, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will set a new record. She will become the first finance minister in India’s history who will deliver seven consecutive Budgets. Currently, she is matching the record set by former Finance Minister Morarji Desai, who had presented six budgets in a row. She will surpass this record in July this year.

Nirmala Sitharaman has been a Union Minister in all three of the 2014, 2019, and 2024 Modi cabinets. She was sworn in as the Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs of Modi 3.0 cabinet in New Delhi, on June 12, 2024.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took charge of the office on June 12. She will table the Union Budget for FY25. This will be her seventh consecutive Budget and she will become the first finance minister in the country’s history who will deliver seven consecutive Budgets.

With Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman all set to present the Union Budget for FY 2024-25, North Block, which houses the finance ministry in New Delhi, is ‘quarantined’ starting June 13 until the Budget is presented in July. The ministry will be out of bounds for visitors and media. According to a report by PTI, all the entry and exit points of the finance minister, during this period, are guarded by security personnel. Also, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) personnel, assisted by Delhi police, will keep a close watch on the movements of people entering the rooms of the officials working on the Budget.

Even as there is no official announcement on the date of presentation of the Union Budget, per reports, the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 is expected to be tabled in the Parliament in the third week of July. Earlier on February 1, 2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had presented the interim budget for 2024-25 in the Parliament.

After assuming charge as the finance minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman instructed the officials to start the process of budget formulation. She stressed on the importance of meticulous planning and thorough analysis in the process of formulation of the Union Budget. Preparation for the Union Budget 2024-25 kick-started early last week in Delhi. The process is started early in order to ensure that the Budget is well-structured and it effectively addresses the country’s economic priorities and even challenges.

Nirmala Sitharaman took charge as the Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister of the newly formed NDA government, on June 12, 2024. She is expected to present the final Budget for FY25 in the third week of July, per sources, in line with the tone of Modi 3.0 government’s priorities and direction towards a ‘Viksit Bharat’.

Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the government is fully committed to ensuring ‘Ease of Living’ for its citizens and will continue to take further steps in this regard. She also maintained that the government, under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, is committed towards policy continuity.

Greetings! Welcome to the live coverage of Budget 2024-25. We, at Financial Express, are continuously bringing all the information and announcements about the probable date when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to table the Budget and about all the key metrics and economic parameters that may or may not affect the announcements in the annual Budget. Stay tuned with financialexpress.com.