New Delhi - Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to submit the Union Budget 2024 on July 22, marking the start of the Parliament's Monsoon Session. The session will begin on July 22 and is expected to continue until August 9, with the budget presentation slated for the first day, according to media reports.
Earlier this year, on February 1, Sitharaman presented the Interim Budget for FY24 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. This interim budget did not feature any major policy changes, as its primary purpose was to ensure the continuity of government expenditure and essential services until the new government could present a comprehensive budget after the elections.
The full budget in July will be the first comprehensive budget of the BJP-led coalition government's third term. It will also be the seventh consecutive budget presented by Sitharaman since she became the finance minister in 2019, succeeding the late Arun Jaitley.
In the full budget, Sitharaman faces the challenge of driving economic growth without exacerbating inflation while addressing the needs of the BJP's coalition partners within the NDA. The BJP, after failing to secure a Lok Sabha majority on its own for the first time since 2014, formed a government with the support of NDA allies like the TDP and JD(U).
A special session of the Lok Sabha is scheduled from June 24 to July 3, during which newly-elected MPs will take their oaths. The Rajya Sabha will hold its special session from June 27 to July 3.
The primary policy priorities for the Union Budget 2024 are expected to include addressing challenges in the agriculture sector, generating employment, maintaining the momentum of capital expenditure, and boosting revenue growth to stay on the fiscal consolidation path. Additionally, the government aims to simplify GST and reduce tax compliance burdens.
The upcoming budget is anticipated to include components of the 100-day plan that Prime Minister Narendra Modi instructed his team to develop. Furthermore, the government plans to extend its production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes to more employment-generating sectors, such as the leather industry.
In the February interim budget, the government emphasized economic policies that foster growth, facilitate inclusive development, improve productivity, and create opportunities across various sections of society. Special attention was given to the eastern region, including the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and West Bengal, with the goal of transforming these areas into growth engines as part of India's vision to become a developed country by 2047.