Desai, who served as the country's finance minister from 1959 to 1964, presented a record six budgets, five of which were full budgets and one was an interim budget.
A day before the budget presentation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “This budget is an important budget for Amrit Kaal. In the five years that we have, this budget will determine the direction of that journey and lay the foundation for the fulfilment of the dream of Viksit Bharat in 2047.”
The main challenges for Sitharaman
The Finance Minister faces a challenging task in her seventh budget as she tries to meet various competing demands while Budgetary disciplineThe need to allocate more resources to social sector programmes and to provide additional assistance to countries, as called for by allies, must be balanced with pressure to reduce income taxes.
Despite the higher dividend from the RBI, which has already been used for the solar rooftop scheme, the government needs additional funds to implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pre-election announcements, such as a new housing subsidy scheme for the poor and the extension of the Aayushman Bharat scheme to senior citizens.
The budget calculation will be based on higher government revenues, tax revenues and capital income compared to the preliminary budget estimates.
Since the interim budget, however, the political landscape has changed. The BJP now needs allies to govern at the central government, although it still holds 240 seats in the Lok Sabha. Growing concerns about a lack of jobs, continued weakness in private investment, income disparities and regional imbalances have raised expectations that the budget will address these issues, with a focus on youth, women and farmers.
20 hours allocated for budget discussion in the Lok Sabha
The Economic Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha on Monday decided to discuss issues relating to the ministries of railways, education, health, small and medium enterprises and food processing, in addition to the Union Budget. A total of 20 hours have been allocated for the debate on the budget.
According to news agency sources, the BAC, which includes representatives from various parties, has taken a decision on the agenda of the meeting, with some opposition members seeking a discussion on a range of different issues.
They added, however, that the discussion on the funding applications for the five ministries would give members the opportunity to discuss a variety of related issues.
6.5-7% growth in FY25: Economic Survey
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also presented the economic report for 2023-24 in Parliament and said the Indian economy was in a “strong state” and well positioned to meet global challenges.
According to the Economic Survey, India's GDP is expected to grow by 6.5-7 percent in fiscal year 2023-24, which would make the country one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. The survey attributes this growth to the government's proactive measures, including supply-side reforms, infrastructure investments and targeted support to disadvantaged sections of the population.
The survey also highlighted the resilience of the Indian economy to global headwinds such as the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the slowdown in major economies. “India's growth is expected to remain robust in the coming year,” the survey said. In addition, “the country's growth will continue to be supported by its strong fundamentals and structural reforms.”
The survey also stressed the importance of continued investment in infrastructure, human capital and technology to sustain long-term growth. It calls for further reforms in areas such as labor laws, land acquisition and business facilitation to attract foreign investment and boost domestic production.
