Finance Ministry Concludes Pre-Budget Consultations Ahead of 2024-25 Union Budget

The Finance Ministry has wrapped up its Pre-Budget consultations for the Union Budget 2024-25, chaired by Nirmala Sitharaman. Over 120 stakeholders, including experts from various sectors, participated in discussions focusing on capital expenditure, fiscal deficit reduction, agriculture, and employment growth.

The Finance Ministry has successfully concluded its Pre-Budget consultations for the upcoming Union Budget 2024-25. These discussions, which began on June 19, 2024, were presided over by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman.

A press release from the Ministry of Finance on Sunday stated that more than 120 invitees, representing 10 different stakeholder groups, participated in these in-person consultations. Among the stakeholders were experts and representatives from farmer associations, agriculture economists, trade unions, the education and health sectors, employment and skilling, MSMEs, trade and services, industry, economists, the financial sector and capital markets, as well as the infrastructure, energy, and urban sectors. As part of these deliberations, the Finance Minister also held a meeting with the Finance Ministers of the states in the national capital.

During the initial meeting with the Union Finance Minister, economists discussed several pressing issues, including boosting capital expenditure and reducing the fiscal deficit. The economists proposed that the ministry should focus on reducing the fiscal deficit in the upcoming budget and also emphasized the need for employment growth.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) suggested increasing capital expenditure in the forthcoming budget. Meanwhile, farmer associations advocated for increased budgetary allocations for the agriculture sector, calling for a review of current allocations. Representatives from the trade and services industry recommended policy reviews for exports and trade, including the Interest Equalization Scheme, ease of doing business, and investment in R&D initiatives. They also raised the issue of employment, with suggestions for skilling youths.

Present at the meetings were Union Ministers of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Finance Secretary and Secretary Expenditure Dr. T.V. Somanathan, Secretary of Economic Affairs Ajay Seth, Secretary of DIPAM Tuhin K. Pandey, Secretary of Financial Services Vivek Joshi, Secretary of Revenue Sanjay Malhotra, Secretary of Corporate Affairs Manoj Govil, Chief Economic Adviser Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran, and other senior finance and ministry officials. Minister Sitharaman expressed her gratitude to the participants for their valuable suggestions and assured that all inputs would be examined and considered during the preparation of Union Budget 2024-25.

(With inputs from agencies.)