Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday assumed the charge of Union Finance Minister, retaining the post for the second term in a row. This is her second term in the Ministry as a Cabinet Minister and overall, her third term as she was a Minister of State during the first term of the Modi Government (2014-2019).
The reforms momentum since 2014 will continue, and the government is committed to ensure ‘ease of living’ for citizens, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on June 12 after assuming charge as the Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister.
FM Sitharaman said the strong leadership and development-oriented governance under Modi 1.0 and 2.0 have driven ‘transformative changes across various sectors’ and created a robust and resilient economy’.
The reforms momentum since 2014 will continue, and the government is committed to ensure ‘ease of living’ for citizens, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on June 12 after assuming charge as the Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister.
FM Sitharaman said the strong leadership and development-oriented governance under Modi 1.0 and 2.0 have driven ‘transformative changes across various sectors’ and created a robust and resilient economy’.
Her first and most important duty will be the presentation of the full Union Budget for Fiscal Year 2024-25. Though the date has not been announced officially, it is likely to take place during the second half of next month.
Sitharaman, 65, is credited as first full-time woman Finance Minister and so far has presented six budgets (including one interim budget). In the interim budget for FY25, she followed convention and stuck to vote-on-accounts only. All eyes are now on the full budget, where she is expected to present the vision for the next 5 years along with some policy announcements. She will also try to address issue of unemployment through measures to boost manufacturing.
The third term of the Modi government has begun. With the chaos surrounding election results behind us, the big question now in the markets is when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the next budget. Sources told CNBC Awaaz that the government is considering two options.
The first option is to start the budget session of Parliament from June 24 to July 3 (the first session) and July 22 to August 9 (the second session), with a break in between. If the government chooses this schedule, Sitharaman may deliver the budget speech on July 22.
The second option is to hold a single session without a break from July 1 to August 2. In such a scenario, the Finance Minister’s budget speech will be on July 8.
One factor that will decide the schedule will be the pre-budget consultations, which are likely to begin June 18 and may last seven to ten days. The budget may be tabled between July 7 and 15 if these consultations conclude soon.
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