Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has concluded consultations with various stakeholders, marking a significant step in the preparations for the upcoming FY25 budget.
Set to be presented on July 23, this budget will be Sitharaman's seventh and the first full budget under the Modi 3.0 government, which aims to pave the way for a developed India by 2047.
The series of pre-budget consultations, held between June 19 and July 5, 2024, involved over 120 invitees from ten key stakeholder groups. These groups included farmer associations, trade unions, representatives from the education and health sectors, employment sectors, MSMEs, industry experts, economists, financial markets, and infrastructure sectors.
Meetings were chaired by Sitharaman and included key officials such as Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Finance Secretary T V Somanathan, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth, DIPAM Secretary Tuhin K Pandey, Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi, and Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra.
In her interactions, Sitharaman expressed gratitude to the participants for their valuable suggestions, assuring them that their inputs would be meticulously reviewed during the budget's formulation.
President Droupadi Murmu, in her address to Parliament last month, hinted at significant economic initiatives in the forthcoming budget session. “This budget will outline the government’s extensive policies and futuristic vision,” Murmu stated in her first joint sitting address since the formation of the 18th Lok Sabha. “Alongside major economic and social decisions, historic steps will also be evident in this budget.”