Union Budget 2024-25 Date Highlights: Nirmala Sitharaman, has been reappointed as the Finance Minister in Modi 3.0 Cabinet. According to sources, the Government is expected to present the Union Budget in Parliament in the third week of July. The official announcement is yet to be made. This is going to be the first full budget under Modi 3.0. FM Sitharaman is poised to make history as she is on track to become the first Finance Minister to deliver seven consecutive Budget presentations — comprising six complete budgets and one interim — surpassing Morarji Desai’s record in this regard.
Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced that the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will begin on June 24 and continue till July 3. Kiren Rijiju 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.”
The Narendra Modi-led government coming back to power for the third time, although without a full majority and supported by key allies, shows that policy continuity will be the order of the day in the Modi 3.0 dispensation. Tanvee Gupta Jain, Chief India Economist, UBS, said, “India’s general election outcome has ensured political stability, which should help maintain policy continuity. However, we see risks of a populist bias in the third term, particularly aimed at the lower-income strata, potentially delaying tougher economic reforms.”
The Reserve Bank of India has decided to keep its policy rate unchanged at 6.50 per cent, unchanged for the eighth time in a row. The RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) met for the first time after the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. Economists, meanwhile, said that the central bank will not cut rates before October 2024.
An Interim Budget was presented by FM Nrimala Sitharaman on February 1 earlier this year. Unlike a few of the previous Interim Budgets, Sitharaman refrained from making any policy announcement or taxation changes, honouring convention and staying on the path of correctness.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has said that the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will begin on June 24 till July 3. In a tweet, Kiren Rijiju said “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.”
Kiren Rijiju assumed charge as the Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs in Sansad Bhawan on Tuesday.
In its June Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank said that India will remain the fastest-growing of the world’s largest economies although its pace of expansion is expected to moderate with a steady average annual growth of 6.7% between FY25 and FY27. It raised India’s growth projection by 0.2 percentage points each to 6.6% for FY25 and 6.7% in FY26 compared with its projection in January this year. This is, however, way below the 7.2% projected by the Reserve Bank of India last week.
Expanding upon the significant threefold increase in capital expenditure allocation over the past four years, which has generated substantial multiplier effects on economic growth and job creation, the Finance Minister disclosed that the allocation for the upcoming year will rise by 11.1 percent to 11.11 lakh crore. This amounts to 3.4 percent of the GDP.
Although there were no alterations observed in the tax structure within the interim budget, the Finance Minister did highlight significant developments related to this aspect. She noted that tax collections had more than doubled over the past decade. She also emphasized the reduction of the average processing time for tax returns to 10 days this year.
The upcoming budget is anticipated to outline the government’s roadmap for the next five years, drawing particular attention to the promised next-generation reforms highlighted in the interim budget of February. Additionally, it will incorporate input from NDA allies, making it a closely monitored event.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman had presented the interim Budget in the Lok Sabha on February 1, 2024.
There is currently deliberation on an idea to either conduct a unified budget session or to divide it into two parts. A decision is likely to be made in the next few days. However, there are indications that the government may lean towards a budget session split by a recess.
Although there has been no official announcement of the date and time, the budget is expected to be presented by FM Nirmala Sitharaman in the month of July.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Union Budget 2024. Here, we will keep you posted on the official announcement regarding the date and time of the budget. We will also bring to you the expectations from across the sectors regarding the upcoming budget. Stay with us!