According to a report, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget for the financial year 2025 on July 23 or 24, but till now the government has not provided any certain date for the announcement of the budget. In 2024, India held it 18th General Election from 19 April to 1 June, this year in Feb Nirmala Sitharaman presented the ‘Interim Budget’, as there were possibilities of change in government, so now the citizens are eagerly waiting for the Union Budget, as there are many expectations, demands and prediction from the general public, industry and businessman.
On June 22, the Finance Minister conducted the 53rd GST Council meeting, in which they focused on discussing ways to make the application of GST on goods and services simpler. They also put forth suggestions for adjusting tax rates and exemptions to improve the efficiency of the GST system.
In February, FM Nirmala Sitharaman made an announcement about the interim budget. The government planned to invest a whopping Rs 11.11 lakh crore in infrastructure projects. This was more than the Rs 10 lakh crore spent last year, and it makes up around 3.4% of the country's total economy. The goal behind this massive investment was to create better highways, more efficient ports, faster trains, and cleaner cities with less traffic, this kind of effective decision we all except from the government in the Union Budget.
In her budget speech on February 1, FM Nirmala Sitharaman allocated Rs 86,000 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme, which is the same amount as last year. She mentioned concerns raised by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) about how MGNREGA is functioning in some states. There are issues with verifying claims and determining whether the people receiving wages actually live in the areas they claim to. These questions are crucial for ensuring the program runs smoothly.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman gave the Interim Budget on February 1, 2024. In which, she announced several important policies that are: adding 2 million more houses to the PM Awas scheme, focusing on housing for the working class, establishing rooftop solar panels for 300 units, Lakhpati Didi Application, and helping MSMEs compete globally. She also highlighted the transformation plans for Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, stressing that the next generation transformation needs to be taken in the eastern region. Three major corridors for railways and +40,000 coaches to be developed like Vande Bharat style, cities internal connections to be established through Metro and NaMo Bharat, additional support for tourism as it will boost our economy and lastly Rs 1 lakh crore investment for research and maintenance, these were the main highlight of the Interim Budget presented by the government. Now, there are many new expectations for the Union Budget which is slightly to be announced in the 3rd week of July, probably on 23rd or 24th July from which the monsoon session of the parliament will also begin.