Union Budget 2024 Updates: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Reaches Rashtrapati Bhavan

Union Budget 2024 Updates: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her seventh consecutive budget for the financial year 2024-25, surpassing the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. The presentation on July 24 will be the first budget of the BJP-led NDA government after its re-election in June.

Unlike 2019, when the BJP had 303 seats in the Lok Sabha, it now has 240 seats. Coalition politics and the aspirations of regional alliance partners cannot be ignored. The reduced number of seats for the BJP may indicate resentment and dissatisfaction with the economic policies adopted by the government during its second term in 2019-24.

Fiscal deficit for FY 2023-24 stood at 5.63% of GDP, while the target for FY 2024-25 was 5.1%. Due to the substantial contribution of personal taxes to total direct tax revenues, it is unlikely that the government will implement policies that will significantly reduce tax income.