FM Nirmala Sitharaman to Present Interim Budget in Lok Sabha on Thursday

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday will present the paperless Interim Budget in the Lok Sabha. When the new government assumes office, it will present a full Budget.

New Delhi:Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Interim Budget in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, the second day of the Budget Session of the Parliament.

The Finance Minister will start presenting the Interim Budget at 11 AM in Lok Sabha, the Lower House of the Parliament. An Interim budget is presented before the Lok Sabha elections by the government to meet April-July period expenses. The new government when it assumes power will present a full Budget. It will be a paperless Budget.

Recently, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the focus of the Interim Budget is youth, women, farmers and the poor. "Yuva, women, those who give us food security, good farmers, and then the unfortunate poor, who still need some more support to them to get uplifted. So, (focus on) just these four groups, everything will be focused towards their betterment," the Finance Minister had said while addressing an event organised at the Hindu College.

Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is completing its second term in May this year, an Interim Budget will be presented. It is not considered appropriate for any election-going government to pass the budget for the next full financial year as it is the right of the elected representatives (members of the Lok Sabha) to discuss and vote on the demands for grants presented by the government to the Parliament.

Since the term of the 17th Lok Sabha is going to expire in May this year hence the present Lok Sabha members have the people's mandate to discuss and vote on the Government of India’s expenditure till the expiry of the term of the 17th Lok Sabha and not beyond that.

The Constitution provides for such a situation as no money can be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund of India except as per a law duly passed by the Parliament authorising such withdrawal which is called appropriation from the Consolidated Fund of India.

Article 116 which deals with Votes on Account, Votes of Credit and Exceptional Grants states that notwithstanding anything in foregoing provisions of that chapter, the House of the People shall have the power to make any grant in advance in respect of the estimated expenditure for a part of any financial year pending the completion of the procedure prescribed in article 113 for the voting of such grant and the passing of the law in accordance.

The Interim Budget in 2019 was presented in the Lok Sabha on February 1, 2019, by then Finance Minister Piyush Goyal. The first paperless Budget was presented by Union Finance Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2021, in the Lok Sabha.

On January 24, the customary Halwa ceremony, marking the final stage of the Budget preparation process for Interim Union Budget 2024, was held in the North Block in New Delhi, in the presence of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Minister of State for Finance Dr. Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad. A customary Halwa ceremony is performed every year before the “lock-in” process of Budget preparation begins.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the commencement of the Budget session said that his government would follow the tradition of presenting an interim budget in an election year.

"Usually, when the election time is near, the full budget is not presented, we will also follow the same tradition and bring the full budget before you after the formation of the new government. This time, the country's Finance Minister Nirmala (Sitharaman) will present her budget in front of all of us tomorrow with some guiding points,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi told reporters ahead of the Budget Session in New Delhi.

Former NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday said the government needs to continue its focus on capital expenditure in the upcoming interim budget, as private investment is 'still weak' and there is a need to bridge the infrastructure gap, which has been 'plaguing' the Indian economy.

Opposition Congress said that the grand old party does not have any expectations from the Interim Budget. Congress Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Shukla said that the party does not have much expectations from the Budget. "The President says what the government asks her to. We do not have much expectations from the Budget. Since this is an interim budget, we cannot expect much relief for anyone... We have no expectations from the government," Shukla was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Come Thursday, all eyes, including that of common citizens, are on Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharama.