Nirmala Sitharaman Reveals What To Expect From February 1 Budget | Details

Nirmala Sitharaman news: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday shared a glimpse into what the February 1 budget will be like. She clarified that there would be no "spectacular announcements" since this is the Vote on Account– the interim budget presented by an outgoing government. "The interim Budget that the government presents is just to be able to meet the expenditure of the government until a new government comes in," she said at CII's Global Economic Policy Forum 2023.

Interim Budget- The Vote On Account

The Finance Minister noted that in keeping with the tradition, the next budget, her sixth one, will be an interim Budget as the elections for the Lok Sabha are slated to happen early next year. The full Budget for the financial year 2025 will be presented after the formation of the new government after the general elections.

The interim Budget 2024-25 is likely to be presented on February 1.

The process to prepare the interim Budget for 2024-2025 began in September when the Finance Ministry invited inputs on expenditure from various ministries and departments, Economic Times reported.

Parliament Asked For Rs 1.29 Tn Additional Spending Approval

The Indian government has already asked the Parliament for its approval for an additional spending worth Rs 1.29 trillion this fiscal. It is important to note that Vote on account is the interim permission from the Parliament to to withdraw money from the Consolidated Fund of India, usually for a few months.

The majority of the Rs 1.29 trillion amount is set to be funnelled into higher subsidies for farmers and a rural job employment programme. The government announced that additional spending for the current fiscal year ending March 31 would be Rs 58,378 crore, with the rest to be covered by reshuffling expenses.

Watch finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's complete address at CII's Global Economic Policy Forum 2023 here.