There will be no ‘big announcement’ in the budget presented in February: Finance Minister Sitharaman – Dainik Savera Times
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New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that there will be no major announcement in the budget to be presented on February 1, 2024. He said that this would be a vote on account to be presented before the general elections. This will be Sitharaman’s sixth budget. Addressing the CII-Global Economic Policy Forum, Sitharaman said that after the general elections to be held in April-May next year, the new government elected will present the full budget for the financial year 2024-25 in July. Sitharaman will present the interim budget in the Lok Sabha on February 1, 2024, for the financial year starting April 1, 2024. He said, “…it is true that the budget will be announced on February 1, 2024. This will just be a vote on account. The reason for this is the general elections to be held in April-May. That is why the budget that the government will present will be only to meet the government expenses till a new government is formed. When asked whether she will make big announcements in the budget to be presented in February, she said. Said, “There will be no major announcement at that time (in the Vote on Account).
Therefore, you will have to wait for the arrival of the new government and the full budget to be presented in July, 2024.” Piyush Goyal, who was holding additional charge of the Finance Ministry after Arun Jaitley fell ill, had presented the interim budget in 2019. Sitharaman was made the Finance Minister after the Narendra Modi-led government came to power for the second consecutive time. He presented the full budget on July 5, 2019. In fact, through Vote on Account, arrangements are made to incur some necessary expenses till the new government takes charge.
Governments have in the past avoided making any major policy announcements during the Vote on Account, but there is no constitutional bar on making major announcements. In the interim budget presented in 2019, Goyal had announced cash assistance of Rs 6,000 per year to 12 crore farmers. Apart from this, tax concessions for the middle class were also announced. This included increasing the standard deduction for the salaried class from Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000. Also, the interim budget 2019 announced full tax exemption for individual taxpayers with taxable annual income up to Rs 5 lakh.
That means, there will be no need to pay any tax for such taxpayers, whose annual income is Rs 5 lakh. The Economic Review is presented every year a day before the Budget. But the government does not present it before the Vote on Account. The economic review giving the state of the economy will be presented before the full budget to be presented in July.
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