Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: In preparation for the Union Budget 2024-25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a meeting with senior NITI Aayog officials and prominent economists. The Modi 3.0 government is set to present its first full budget on July 23.
The meeting saw the presence of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran, economist Surjit Bhalla, agricultural economist Ashok Gulati, and veteran banker KV Kamath.
This budget is anticipated to be a pivotal economic document for the Modi 3.0 administration, laying out a strategic plan to propel India towards becoming a developed nation by 2047.
Finance Minister Sitharaman has been actively engaging with various stakeholders, including leading figures in Indian industry, state finance ministers, and economists, to gather input for the upcoming budget.
After presenting an interim budget prior to the Lok Sabha elections, Finance Minister Sitharaman is now set to introduce the full budget for 2024-25. This budget aims to sustain high economic growth and boost job creation during the third term of the Modi government.
Among expected measures, Finance Minister Sitharaman is likely to increase the income tax exemption limit, providing relief to the middle class and enhancing consumer spending, which in turn is expected to drive economic growth.
With a low fiscal deficit, a substantial ?2.11 lakh crore dividend from the RBI, and robust tax revenues, the Finance Minister has significant leeway to implement growth-accelerating policies and social welfare schemes targeting poverty alleviation.
Prime Minister Modi has emphasized that “the next 5 years will be a decisive fight against poverty.”
The budget presentation comes at a time when the Indian economy has achieved an impressive 8.2% growth rate in 2023-24, the fastest among the world’s major economies, with inflation reducing to below 5%. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) projects the economy to maintain an over 8% growth trajectory.
Furthermore, the fiscal deficit has been brought down from over 9% of GDP in 2020-21 to a targeted 5.1% for 2024-25, bolstering the macroeconomic stability of the country. Reflecting these improvements, S&P Global Rating upgraded India’s sovereign rating outlook from ‘stable’ to ‘positive’, citing strong economic growth and improving fiscal health.
