FM Nirmala Sitharaman is due to present her sixth consecutive budget. Sitharaman has presented five full budgets since July 2019 and is developing a 2024-25 interim budget.
On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will submit her sixth straight budget, matching former Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s record. Sitharaman is India’s first full-time female finance minister,
Since July 2019, she has presented five full budgets and is planning an interim or vote-on-account budget. She will outperform Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P Chidambaram, and Yashwant Sinha, all presented five budgets.
Morarji Desai submitted five annual and one interim budgets as finance minister from 1959 to 1964. To spend defined sums until a new administration is elected after the April-May general elections, Sitharaman will propose a vote-on-account interim budget for 2024-25.
Since the elections are close, Sitharaman’s interim budget is unlikely to change policy. The “spectacular announcement,” Sitharaman said at an industry event last month, will be a vote-on-account before the general elections. Once approved by Parliament, a vote-on-account permits the government to take pro-rata monies from the Consolidated Fund of India for April-July expenditure.
The 2024-25 budget will be presented in July by the next administration, likely formed in June. Although interim budgets rarely include big policy pronouncements, the government might address critical economic challenges.
The second woman to propose the budget after Indira Gandhi, Sitharaman became finance minister after the 2019 general elections. She has adopted several policies to address the COVID-19 pandemic, and India remains the fastest-growing major economy during her leadership.
India wants a $5 trillion economy by 2027-28 and $30 trillion by 2047. As agriculture growth slows in the current fiscal year, Sitharaman is expected to prioritize rural sector growth. Major announcements may be delayed until after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but the budget should address current fiscal requirements and build the basis for economic growth.
Conclusion
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will submit her sixth straight budget, tying Morarji Desai’s record. Since July 2019, Sitharaman, the first full-time woman budget presenter, has given five full budgets and is developing an interim budget for 2024-25. A vote-on-account budget will allow the administration to spend specific amounts until a new government is formed following the general elections. July will see the new government’s final 2024-25 budget. The second woman to propose the budget after Indira Gandhi, Sitharaman became finance minister after the 2019 general elections.
