The Union Budget session is scheduled to commence on January 31, extending until February 9, as per sources from India Today. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the Interim Budget for FY25 on February 1.

The session will kick off with President Draupadi Murmu addressing both houses on January 31, officially inaugurating the Budget session.

Sources indicate a potential proposal in the interim budget to double the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi for women farmers. This move, expected to be announced on February 1, could incur an additional cost of Rs 12,000 crore for the government, according to Reuters.

In a departure from past practices, this year’s budget will be an Interim Budget rather than a comprehensive one, given the impending Lok Sabha elections in two to three months. The ruling government typically presents an Interim Budget in an election year or when there’s insufficient time for a full budget. The subsequent government post-election will be tasked with formulating the complete annual budget.

For the fiscal year 2024-25, a brief overview of India’s economic status is anticipated to precede the interim budget on February 1, instead of the usual comprehensive Economic Survey.

In the previous year, the Union Budget for 2023-24 was unveiled on February 1, 2023. During the initial phase of the parliamentary session, both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha engaged in a general discussion on the budget. The Lok Sabha deliberation surpassed the allocated time of 12 hours, lasting for 14 hours and 45 minutes, while the Rajya Sabha discussion, clocking in at 2 hours and 21 minutes, fell short of its allotted time of 12 hours.

A total of 145 Lok Sabha members and 12 Rajya Sabha members participated in the budget discussion during that session. Additionally, eight bills, including the Finance Bill, 2023; The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill, 2023; and The Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023, were introduced and passed by both houses.

Link to article – 

Budget 2024: Parliament budget session to start from Jan 31, ‘interim budget’ on Feb 1