Mumbai, January 16: Amid the economic slowdown and global inflation, India is eager to see how Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addresses the situation through the Union Budget 2023 and what she brings to the table for the coming financial year. Sitharaman, who presented her maiden budget in 2019, is the second woman to do so after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has been a great reformer of India during its tenure over the past eight years. The reforms implemented in the last 8 years have been extensive, and positively impacted the country's large population. The NDA-led government has brought several changes in the budget traditions as well. Budget 2023: From Hike in Income Tax Exemption Limit to Lower Tax Rates and Raise in Standard Deduction, List of Changes Taxpayers Wish in Tax Slabs.

Budget Presentation Date:

Modi Government changed the budget presentation date to February 1 from the last working day of February in the year 2017. Union Budget 2023: Amendments to Competition Law Likely in Budget Session.

Briefcase Back in Closet:

In 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman decided to end the age-old tradition of carrying budget documents in a leather briefcase. Instead, she brought a folder wrapped in a red cloth. Later in 2021, Sitharaman arrived with a tablet instead of a briefcase, to present the first-ever digital budget.

No Halwa Ceremony:

The "halwa ceremony" used to mark the commencement of the printing of the Budget document. This ritual also sets the stage for a significant event soon after. The printing of the budget takes time, and all the officials involved are required to stay in the ministry and remain cut off from their families till the presentation of the Budget in the Lok Sabha. Due to the COVID-19 surge, the Finance Ministry did not organised a traditional Halwa Ceremony in 2022.

Paperless Budget:

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget 2022-23 in a paperless format for the second year in a row. This year too, the Finance Minister will carry a tablet for the Budget Speech 2023.

Railways in Union Budget:

Back in the day, the Railway Budget was presented a few days before the Union Budget. On September 21, 2017, the Modi government approved the merger of the Railway and Union Budgets from the following year, scrapping a 92-year-old policy.

Wealth Tax Abolished:

Keeping the income tax slabs unchanged, the abolition of wealth tax was replaced by an additional surcharge on people with a taxable income of more than Rs 1 crore.

As the presentation of Union Budget 2023 nears, all eyes are on the new changes the Modi government might bring in the budget traditions.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 16, 2023 04:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).