Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the full Budget 2024-25 next week, on July 23, Tuesday. This will be the first Budget of the Modi 3.0 government and her seventh Budget presentation. The Budget is expected to push initiatives for various segments of the economy in line with the Viksit Bharat 2047 Vision, along with maintaining its fiscal prudence. Check the date, time, key facts and expectations from the Union Budget 2024-25, and where to watch:
Date and Timings of the Union Budget 2024-25 Presentations
The full Union Budget 2024-25 is going to be presented on July 23 in the Lok Sabha. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will start her Budget Speech at 11 am. This will be Sitharaman’s seventh Budget Speech in a row, making her India’s second finance minister to do so.
Where Can You Watch the Union Budget 2024-25 Live Stream?
The Union Budget 2024 will be live-streamed across platforms. It can be watched live on CNN-News18 and News18 TV channels, along with in-depth analysis.
Apart from this, the Budget Speech live-streaming and broadcast will be done on the India Budget’s website, Sansad TV and Doordarshan TV channels and their YouTube channels.
The duration of the Budget Speech depends upon the length of the Budget. Among Sitharaman’s six Budget Speeches so far, the Budget Speech 2020 was the longest which continued for 2 hours and 40 minutes. It was also India’s longest Budget Speech. Her shortest Budget Speech was in Interim Budget 2024, at 56 minutes.
The shortest Budget Speech in India was delivered by Hirubhai M Patel, who presented an 800-word interim budget for 1977-78.
When Was India’s First Budget Presented?
James Wilson, who also introduced income tax, presented India’s first Union Budget on April 7, 1860. In Independent India, the first Union Budget was presented on November 26, 1947, by the first finance minister R K Shanmukham Chetty.
Who Has Presented The Most Number of Budgets?
So far, C D Deshmukh, who was India’s finance minister between 1950 and 1956, has presented the highest number of Union Budget. He presented seven Budgets, including an interim one in 1952.
Nirmala Sitharaman will become the second finance minister to achieve this. She is also one of the longest-serving finance ministers of India.
Full Budget Vs Interim Budget Vs Vote-on-Account
The full Union Budget covers the receipts and expenditures of the entire year, while an interim Budget is for a shorter period. The interim budget is typically presented in an election year, when the government does not have a full year ahead.
Under Article 112 of the Constitution of India, the Budget is called ‘Annual Financial Statement’.
Vote on account, on the other hand, is envisaged under Article 116, which covers the government’s short-term expenditure, as the Appropriation Bill (through which the government can withdraw budgeted money from the Consolidated Fund of India) might take time to pass in Parliament.
Budget 2024-25: Major Expectations
Various sections of society have a lot of expectations from the Budget 2024-25, ranging from income tax relief to measures to push growth. India’s tax slabs have remained unchanged since 2012-13.
On the fiscal consolidation front, the government is likely to reduce its fiscal deficit target to 5 per cent in the full Budget 2024-25, against 5.1 per cent in the interim Budget. This comes following a surge in tax collections and a higher-than-expected surplus transfer of Rs 2.1 lakh crore from the RBI.
“Since this is the first budget in the Modi Government’s historical third term, it will be leveraged to send the message of economic vision for 2030 and 2047. As part of this, the Modi Government may deploy the 0.33 per cent available fiscal space created by higher than budgeted surplus transfer from RBI towards pro-growth areas like higher allocations for RoDTEP, marginal increase in capital expenditure, tax cuts, tax incentives, rural development, incentives for affordable housing, incentivising states to promote manufacturing and MSMEs or others that the government may deem fit. A part of the spend may be directed towards education and healthcare,” said Sandeep Vempati, an economist with BJP.
