Jul 23, 2024 12:15 PM IST
President Droupadi Murmu offered ‘dahi-cheeni’ to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ahead of the Budget 2024 presentation today.
Ahead of the Union Budget 2024 presentation in the Parliament on Tuesday, President Droupadi Murmu offered ‘dahi-chini’ (curd-sugar) to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman when she arrived at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The ‘dahi-cheeni’ ritual was carried out by President Murmu to mark the auspicious commencement of the day.
As per established tradition, the finance minister met the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan before heading to Parliament. She was accompanied by MoS (Finance) Pankaj Choudhary.
Before reaching the Rashtrapati Bhavan, FM Sitharaman posed with a tablet wrapped in a ‘bahi khata’-styled pouch carrying the Budget documents outside the Finance Ministry, continuing the tradition she set in 2019.
Before the presentation in the Parliament, the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Budget for fiscal 2024-25 (April 2024 to March 2025).
Expectations are running high as Sitharaman presents her seventh Budget in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The Budget would give a glimpse of the Modi government’s performance in the past 10 years while outlining the roadmap to make India a developed nation.
The economy is projected to expand by 6.5-7 per cent in the current fiscal, as per the Economic Survey tabled in Parliament on Monday.
The Budget 2024-25, in line with PM Modi’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, is expected to focus on income tax relief, job creation and employment, farmers’ income, and agendas focused on benefiting the middle class.
Sitharaman commenced the Budget 2024 presentation in the Lok Sabha at 11 am today, and said that the people of India have reinforced their faith in the government led by Modi and re-elected it for the third term.
India’s economic growth continues to shine while the global economy is still in the grip of policy uncertainty, she added. The country’s inflation continues to be stable and is moving towards 4 per cent, and core inflation stands at 3.1 pc.