The much-awaited Union Budget for FY24-25 will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1. The Budget contains all the details about the estimated expenditure of the government for a particular fiscal year. It is allotted for a fiscal year, which runs from April 1 to March 31 of the next year. This year, it will be an interim Budget as the elections for the Lok Sabha are due this year. An interim budget is a temporary financial plan for a few months until a new government is formed. The Union Budget of India is also referred to as the Annual Financial Statement in Article 112 of the Constitution of India. Union Budget 2023-24: Full Text of Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget Speech in English and Hindi.

The budget is prepared by the Budget Division Department of Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Finance annually with the Finance Minister being the head of the budget-making committee. In India, the first budget was submitted on 18 February 1860 by James Wilson. P C Mahalanobis is known as the father of the Indian budget.

Union Budget 2024 Date and Time

Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2024-2025 on 1 February 2024 at 11:00 am.

The Government presents the Union Budget on the first day of February so that it can be materialised before the beginning of the new financial year in April. Until 2016, the Union Budget was presented on the last working day of February by the finance minister in Parliament. Parliament's Budget Session to Begin on January 31.

This year, the budget is expected to focus on the continuation of existing schemes, and government programs related to social welfare, agriculture, infrastructure, and defense. It must be noted that ahead of the elections in India, an interim budget is presented by the outgoing government. It presents only an interim budget or seeks a vote on account, leaving it to the next government to present the full Budget.

A brief Budget session of Parliament, the last of the 17th Lok Sabha, will be held between January 31 and February 9, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi informed on X. The new government, which will be sworn in after the Lok Sabha polls expected in April-May, will present a full-fledged budget.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 22, 2024 06:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).