The government on Monday will kick off its annual budget-making exercise for the financial year 2023-24. The exercise is expected to look at measures to revive growth amid a gloomy global outlook. The meeting would start with consultations with various ministries and departments on the revised estimates (RE) of expenditure for ongoing financial year and the fund requirement for 2023-24.
On the first day on Monday, RE meetings with Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Labour And Employment, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports would take place. Most of these discussions to finalise RE for ongoing financial year (2022-23) and Budget Estimate for 2023-24 would be chaired by the Finance Secretary and Expenditure Secretary.
The month-long deliberations would end on November 10, with consultations with Ministry of Cooperation, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, as per a notification of Budget Division of the finance ministry. The budget estimates for 2023-24 will be provisionally finalised after completion of pre-Budget meetings.
These meetings would take place against the backdrop of many institutions, including the Reserve Bank and the World Bank, slashing India's growth forecast to 7 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively. It will be the fifth budget of the Narendra Modi 2.0 government and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and the last full Union Budget before the general elections due in April-May 2024.
During the election year, the government presents a Vote on Account for the limited period. Usually, the Union Budget is cleared till July. The Budget 2023-24 is likely to be presented on February 1, during the first half of Parliament's Budget session which usually begins in the last week of January every year.
Union Budget 2022-23 had projected a growth rate of 7-7.5 percent in real terms while fiscal deficit was pegged at 6.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
