Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman set to present interim budget; final of Modi's 2nd term

Nirmala Sitharaman/ PTI

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sithataman is set to present the interim budget before the Lok Sabha polls later this year. This marks her sixth budget in a row as the Finance Minister and the final one in Prime Minister Modi's second term.

Per the ANI report, the interim budget is designed to address India's financial needs until a new government is formed post-Lok Sabha elections. The full budget will be presented by the incoming government.

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The Budget Session of Parliament kicked off on Wednesday with President Droupadi Murmu's joint address. In her address, she highlighted the economic achievements of the country throughout 2023 emphasising India's impressive 7.5 per cent growth amid global challenges.

"The year 2023 was a historic year for India when it grew the fastest among major economies despite the global crisis. India grew about 7.5 per cent for two consecutive quarters," Murmu said in her address.

The final session before the elections, which will last eight sittings and ten days, will mostly focus on financial issues linked to the interim union budget for 2024-25, as well as talks on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address. Additionally, legislation and other important business may be addressed during this session.

The Indian economy is expected to grow by about 7 per cent in the current fiscal year, owing to strong domestic demand and a series of government reforms implemented over the last decade. The GDP prediction, along with controlled inflation, political stability, and signals of the central bank tightening monetary policy, portrays an optimistic prognosis.

The Modi government 2.0's most recent full budget, for 2023-24, proposed a considerable increase in capital expenditure as well as an increased agricultural credit objective. The budget deficit target for the same year was set at 5.9 per cent of GDP, with a pledge to reduce it to below 4.5 per cent by 2025-26.

For the past three years, the Union Budgets have adopted a paperless format, demonstrating how times have changed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the budget, calling it the "first budget of Amrit Kaal," and emphasised its importance in creating a solid foundation for a thriving India by 2047.