Sitharaman to hold pre-budget meeting with industry chambers on Jun 20

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to hold pre-budget consultations with industry chambers on June 20, sources said.

The budget for 2024-25 fiscal is likely to be presented in Parliament in the second half of July.

Industry sources said the pre-budget consultation with Sitharaman would be preceded by a meeting with Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra on June 18.

The 2024-25 Budget is likely to lay out Modi 3.0 government’s economic agenda.

The finance minister will have to look at measures to boost growth without hurting inflation as well as look for resources to meet the coalition government’s compulsion.

The economic agenda would include steps to fast-rack reforms to make India a USD 5-trillion economy in near future and turn the country into a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.

The Indian economy is projected to grow 7.2 per cent in the current fiscal on the back of improving rural demand and moderating inflation, as per RBI estimates.

The Modi 3.0 government inherits a strong economy with fiscal prudence in place. Icing on the cake is a bonanza from RBI which has announced the highest-ever dividend of Rs 2.11 lakh crore for FY24.

The key policy priorities for the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government would include dealing with stress in the agriculture sector, job creation, sustaining capex momentum and pushing revenue growth to stay on the fiscal consolidation path.

Rating agency S&P has already given a thumbs up to economic policies followed by the Modi regime in the past 10 years by upgrading the sovereign rating outlook to positive. It also hinted at a possible rating upgrade in next 1-2 years provided the government sticks to its fiscal deficit roadmap.

While tax revenues seem to be buoyant, non-tax revenue remains a challenge as strategic disinvestment has almost been a non-starter with no big-ticket strategic sale, except Air India.