Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Saturday (July 6) that Parliament’s Budget Session is set to begin on July 22, 2024, and will run until August 12, 2024.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), he also announced the date for the presentation of the budget, i.e., on July 23, a day after the budget session begins.
He said, “The Hon’ble President of India, on the recommendation of the Government of India, has approved the proposal for summoning both Houses of Parliament for the Budget Session, 2024, from July 22, 2024, to August 12, 2024 (subject to exigencies of Parliamentary Business). The Union Budget, 2024–25, will be presented in Lok Sabha on July 23, 2024.”
Meanwhile, it is pertinent to note that this will be the first budget presented by the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently presiding over his third term in office amid high anticipation that the 2024 budget will be marked by many historic steps.
The first budget of the new government will be presented amid high anticipation following President Droupadi Murmu’s assertion that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term would be marked by many historic steps.
Murmu had said major social and economic decisions would be a highlight of the budget. The first session of the house was a stormy affair with the opposition trying to corner the government over a range of issues including NEET-UG examination row and Agniveer scheme.
Given the low fiscal deficit, the hefty Rs 2.11 lakh crore dividend from the RBI and the buoyancy in taxes, the Finance Minister has a lot of headroom for pushing ahead with policies aimed at accelerating growth and implementing social welfare schemes aimed at uplifting the poor.
Prime Minister Modi has already declared that “the next 5 years will be a decisive fight against poverty.” Sitharaman will be presenting the budget at a time when the Indian economy has clocked a robust 8.2 per cent growth in 2023-24, which is the fastest among the world’s major economies, and inflation coming down to below 5 per cent. The RBI has stated that the economy is headed to an over 8 per cent growth trajectory.