Budget 2024 Date Highlights: While reports suggested that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to table the Union Budget for FY25 on July 23 or 24, there is still no official announcement of the date of the Budget presentation by the government. Moving closer to the date of the Budget presentation, there is a slew of expectations, demands and anticipation from people, industries, and economists alike.
Meanwhile, the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha has already commenced on June 24 and later on June 26, Om Birla, a three-time BJP MP, was re-elected as the Lok Sabha Speaker for a second term. He won against the INDIA bloc’s candidate, Congress’ Kodikunnil Suresh, through a voice vote. The Monsoon Session of the Parliament, according to sources, is expected to begin on July 22 and the Budget presentation will coincide with this. The session is likely to continue until August 9.
Earlier on June 22, Nirmala Sitharaman presided over the 53rd GST Council meeting, which deliberated on various proposals to streamline GST applicability across goods and services, and several recommendations were made to refine tax rates and service exemptions under the GST regime.
Sources have indicated that the full Budget for 2024-25 may be presented on July 24 during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, with the Economic Survey potentially being tabled on July 23.
Although the final dates will be announced soon, sources noted that it is customary for there to be at least a 15-day gap between two sessions of Parliament.
In the upcoming Union Budget 2024-25, the government is anticipated to maintain its focus on infrastructure development. A report by Mint suggests that there may be plans to increase capital expenditure allocations for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for FY25.
Biocon and Biocon Biologics Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has expressed her expectations of the upcoming budget. In case of the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors, she said, “much like the production-linked incentive scheme, there is need for a research-linked incentive scheme. Encouraging research and innovation is essential. It’s the only way for Indian medicines to advance up the value chain through groundbreaking research, positioning India as a hub for new drug discovery and development. Additionally, it’s vital to expand and scale existing operations.
Ahead of the Union Budget 2024, leaders in the healthcare industry are anticipating a significant increase in the overall health budget.
Bhanu Prakash Kalmath S J, Partner at Grant Thornton Bharat, told Financial Express.com that the Interim Budget 2024 highlighted the government’s healthcare priorities through initiatives such as coverage of ASHA workers and Anganwadi workers and helpers under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, the U-WIN immunization platform, and the cervical cancer vaccination drive. He noted that the upcoming full budget presents an opportunity for further progress towards the goal of ‘Viksit Bharat’.
India’s current account balance recorded a surplus of $5.7 billion or 0.6% of the GDP in Q4FY24 as against deficits of $8.7 billion (1%) in the previous quarter, and $1.3 billion (0.2%) in the year-ago period, the RBI said. The last time the account saw a surplus was in Q1FY22 (0.9% of GDP). The merchandise trade deficit at $50.9 billion in Q424 was lower than $ 52.6 billion a year ago.