Budget 2024: The annual budget is presented by the Union Finance Minister in the Lok Sabha on February 1. Here’s how the financial document is prepared.
Budget 2024: The Union budget is an financial statement which lays out the Central government’s proposed expenditures and revenues for the upcoming fiscal year that begins on April 1 and ends on March 31 of the following year.
The annual budget is presented by the Union Finance Minister in the Lok Sabha on February 1 and details the government’s economic and fiscal policies f0r the coming fiscal year.
Here how the Union budget is prepared:
- The preparation of the budget document starts 6 months prior to it being presented in the Parliament. Deliberations on the budget commence in August-September of the previous year.
- Concerned ministries prepare estimates in extensive consultations with the NITI Aayog and the approved data is then sent to the Union Finance Ministry.
- Upon receiving the estimates from various ministries, the finance ministry allocates revenues to the concerned departments.
- Disputes over allocation of funds, if any, are sent to the Prime Minister or the Union Cabinet for resolution.
- Pre-budget meetings are held by the finance ministry where proposals and demands of various stakeholders are discussed before the decisions are finalized with the Prime Minister.
- The budget is presented in the Lower House of the Parliament on February and must gain parliamentary approval before the end of the current fiscal year which ends on April 1.
- A ‘halwa’ ceremony is held before the budget is tabled in the House and ‘lock-in’ procedure is initiated for the ministry staff in order to prevent leaks. The lock-in lasts until the budget is presented in the Lok Sabha.
- Earlier, the budget was tabled in the Lok Sabha on the last day of February. However, this practice was changed in 2017 and the financial document is now presented on February 1 since.
The Budget is closely followed by all stakeholders, including business houses, investors, as well as the general public as government’s economic and fiscal policies directly impact lives of people and fate of businesses in the country.