Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the interim budget on Thursday, February 1, ahead of the highly anticipated Lok Sabha polls. The comprehensive budget for the fiscal year, which runs from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, will be presented after the new government is elected.
The government has received a tax windfall as a result of the economy’s substantial growth, which has assisted it in reducing the deficit. Accordingly, analysts say, Sitharaman, who will present her sixth budget, has enough options to maintain the current level of infrastructure investment and implement specific measures to assist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election-related priority sectors, which include women, farmers, the underprivileged sections, and the youth.
Goldman Sachs has predicted that India will become the world’s second-largest economy by 2075. And it is already the fifth-largest economy globally, behind the United States, China, Japan, and Germany.
Analysts say the interim budget may have good news on the income tax exemption limit, announcements regarding the taxation on the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, a boost to the FAME scheme, which incentivises Electric Vehicles (EV) manufacturers, increased allocation to PM Kisan, etc.
The interim budget mainly focuses on a breakdown of the government’s expected income and expenses until the formation of the new government. On the other hand, a comprehensive budget covers all aspects of government finances, including revenue, expenditure, allocations, and policy announcements.
Major policy announcements that could burden the next government cannot be included in the interim budget. According to the Code of Conduct of the Election Commission of India, the interim budget cannot include any significant schemes as it may sway the voters. Additionally, the ruling government is not permitted to present the economic survey alongside the interim budget.
After the interim budget is presented, Parliament passes a “vote-on-account”. This is a provision that allows the government to obtain parliamentary approval for essential government spending such as salaries and ongoing expenses. This is usually valid for up to two months but can be extended.
The government, in 2016, decided to merge the railway budget with the union budget when the late Arun Jaitley, the then finance minister, presented the first combined budget for the financial year 2017-18.
India launched several Vande Bharat trains and deployed faster non-airconditioned services called Amrit Bharat trains in 2023. As India accelerates the modernisation drive while unclogging the rail network with dedicated freight corridors, it now also harbours dreams to eliminate waiting lists for trains. With such aspirations, the interim budget’s stance on railways is highly anticipated.
Like the previous three full union budgets, the interim union budget 2024 will also be delivered in paperless form.
All the union budget documents, including the Annual Financial Statement (commonly known as Budget), Demand for Grants (DG), Finance Bill, etc, will be available on the “Union Budget Mobile App” for hassle-free access to budget documents by Members of Parliament and the general public using the simplest form of digital convenience.
It is bilingual (English and Hindi) and will be available on both Android and iOS platforms.
The app can also be downloaded from the union budget web portal (www.indiabudget.gov.in).
The budget documents will be available on the mobile app after the completion of the budget speech by the union finance minister in Parliament.
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