Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the first pre-budget consultation meeting on Monday, November 21, 2022, with industry experts and leaders in climate change and infrastructure. The Ministry of Finance said about the series of meetings on Sunday. The first sessions are being held in two sessions, with industry leaders from various sectors. The first meeting held in New Delhi, with regards to the union budget 2023-24, was attended by union ministers of state for finance, Pankaj Chaudhary and Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, along with various secretaries and economic advisors. The meeting held today will follow several other consultation meets with various other stakeholders in sectors like agriculture, health, education, sanitation, and water.
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The union minister of finance will meet captains and representatives of agriculture and agro-processing industry, in addition to the representatives of the capital market and financial sectors on November 22. On November 24, Sitharaman will chair a meeting with the representatives of the service sector and the trade body, followed by a pre-budget meet with economists and trade union representatives on November 28.
The consultation sessions being held by the Ministry of Finance will include suggestions from the experts, leaders, and representatives of various sectors for the union budget 2023-24, likely to be presented on February 1 next year. The pre-budget meetings will also include discussions around the requirement of funds by various sectors and the final ceilings of the expenditures. The series of meetings will be the last budget meetings for the Modi government before the advent of the Lok Sabha elections in April 2024.
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On Friday, Sitharaman met Jin Liqun, President, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and focused on “India’s key priority areas” such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, and climate smart technologies. She urged that the AIIB should mobilise private finance and scale-up investments in the aforementioned areas and start building their regional presence in the country. India is the largest client of the AIIB. The pre-budget sessions also kickstarted with discussions centred on climate change.