Guwahati: The much-awaited Modi 3.0 government’s Union Budget 2024 is scheduled to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday, making it the first full Union Budget of the new NDA coalition government
The Budget will primarily focus on changes in the income tax structure and improving the ease of doing business in India.
This will also mark Sitharaman’s seventh presentation of a Union Budget, which also makes her the first Finance Minister to present seven union budgets in a row.
Morarji Desai held this record previously, by presenting six consecutive budgets.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2024 in the parliament on July 23, 2024, at 11 am.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “It is a matter of pride that after 60 years, a government has come to power for the third time and will present the first Budget for the third time. I have been giving guarantees to the people of the country and our mission is to bring this to the ground. This Budget is an important budget for Amrit Kaal. Today’s budget will decide the direction for the next 5 years of our term. This budget will also become a strong foundation of our dream of Viksit Bharat.”
On Monday, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey 2023-24 where she said that India’s real GDP is projected to grow between 6.5–7 per cent in 2024-25. The Indian economy recovered swiftly from the pandemic, with its real GDP in FY24 being 20 per cent higher than the pre-COVID, FY20 levels.
The Survey points out that the domestic growth drivers have supported economic growth in FY24 despite uncertain global economic performance. It also adds that during the decade ending FY20, India grew at an average annual rate of 6.6 per cent, more or less reflecting the long-run growth prospects of the economy.
The Survey, however, cautions that any escalation of geopolitical conflicts in 2024 may lead to supply dislocations, higher commodity prices, reviving inflationary pressures and stalling monetary policy easing with potential repercussions for capital flows. This can also influence RBI’s monetary policy stance. The global trade outlook for 2024 remains positive, with merchandise trade expected to pick up after registering a contraction in volumes in 2023.