Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday will table her seventh straight Union Budget in Lok Sabha. The first budget in Narendra Modi government’s third term is being keenly watched by all in this 140-crore strong democracy.
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The taxpayers have enormous expectations from Sitharaman, who in her first stint in the finance ministry led India through difficult times during the Covid-19 pandemic. The expectations include changes in tax slabs, a potential hike in standard deductions, and more exemptions.
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The upcoming budget could witness big-ticket announcements in key sectors such as health, infrastructure, education, defence, real estate and others. The budget is expected to lay a roadmap for Viksit Bharat (developed India) by 2047, as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while giving a glimpse of 10 years’ performance.
Sitharaman had in her first Budget in 2019 replaced the leather briefcase – which had been in use for decades for carrying Budget documents — with a traditional ‘bahi-khata’ wrapped in red cloth.
“This budget is an important budget of Amrit Kaal. We have got an opportunity of five years and this budget will determine the direction of our work for those five years and also lay a strong foundation for fulfilling our dream of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ in 2047, when we will celebrate 100 years of independence,” the prime minister had said ahead of the commencement of the second leg of the budget session of parliament.
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Ahead of the Union budget, Nirmala Sitharaman presented the economic survey before Parliament. The report has set a growth forecast of 6.5 to 7 per cent for the current financial year. The survey also flagged the need to create more jobs in the economy.
The growth forecast is lower than the 8.2 per cent growth seen in the previous 2023-24 (April 2023 to March 2024) fiscal and below RBI’s 7.2 per cent estimate for the current fiscal.
“The Indian economy is on a strong wicket and stable footing, demonstrating resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges,” Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran wrote in the preface of the annual financial document.
The stock market closed lower with the Sensex dropping 102 points to settle at 80,502.08. It had fallen by 504 points or 0.62 per cent to hit an intra-day low of 80,100.65 but recovered most of the losses as Infosys and HDFC Bank advanced.
Nifty of the NSE dipped 21.65 points or 0.09 per cent to 24,509.25. During the day, it dropped 168.6 points or 0.68 per cent to 24,362.30.