Centre to hold all-party meeting today ahead of interim Budget session

Ahead of the interim Budget session of Parliament, the Centre has called for a meeting with the floor leaders of political parties in both Houses on Tuesday. The meeting will be chaired by Parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi at 11:30am in the Parliament Library building.

The meeting convened by the government is a customary practice ahead of every Parliamentary session. During the meeting, leaders highlight the issues they would want to raise during the Parliament session.

The Budget session will begin with the address of President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday and is likely to conclude on February 9. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is poised to present the interim Budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 on Thursday. She is the first full-time woman finance minister of the country who will present her sixth straight budget – equalling the record of former prime minister Morarji Desai.

According to Sitharaman, this year’s budget would primarily be a “vote on account” before the general elections. During her address earlier, she emphasised that such interim budgets typically do not include significant announcements, and the public will have to await the new government’s presentation of the comprehensive budget in July 2024.

What is the Union Budget?

The Union Budget is the Centre’s annual financial statement that outlines the government’s proposed expenditures and revenues for the upcoming fiscal year – April 1 to March 31. It includes all details about the expenditures, revenues, liabilities, and welfare schemes.

It is expected that this year the Centre will make some changes to its welfare scheme, including the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi. According to reports, the government might increase the PM Kisan scheme payout by 50 per cent this year, from ₹6,000 to ₹9,000 per year. Apart from this, reports suggest that the Centre is also expected to continue the push for capital expenditure.