Union Budget Preparations Begin: Finance Minister Sitharaman To Present 7th Consecutive Budget

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New Delhi: Preparation for the upcoming Union Budget 2024-25 commenced in Delhi on Thursday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has directed officials to initiate the budget preparation process, emphasizing the need for meticulous planning and comprehensive analysis.

This early start aims to ensure a well-structured budget that effectively addresses the country's economic priorities and challenges. The collaborative efforts of the ministry's team are expected to contribute to a robust and strategic financial plan for the upcoming fiscal year.

According to sources, the Union Budget for 2024-25 is likely to be tabled in Parliament by the third week of July. Earlier, on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the interim budget for 2024-2025 in Parliament due to the election year.

The Interim Budget is presented by a government that is either in a transition period or in its last year in office ahead of general elections. The purpose of the interim budget is to ensure the continuity of government expenditure and essential services until the new government can present a full-fledged budget after taking office. Now, after the election results, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her seventh budget in a row. It will also be the full budget for the year 2024-25.

In the February interim budget, the government focused on economic policies that foster growth, facilitate inclusive development, improve productivity, and create opportunities for various sections, while noting that it will pay utmost attention to the eastern region, including the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and West Bengal, to make them growth engines as part of the goal to make India a developed country by 2047.

In her second stint, Nirmala Sitharaman formally assumed charge as Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs on Wednesday morning. She was greeted at the office in North Block by Finance Secretary TV Somanathan and other Secretaries of the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Affairs.

Nirmala Sitharaman, who has been a Union Minister in both the 2014 and 2019 Modi cabinets, took oath as Union Cabinet Minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new Union Council of Ministers on Sunday evening in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan, along with another 70 Council of Ministers.