FM Nirmala Sitharaman to present Economic Survey 2024 in parliament today: Key points

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the Economic Survey on Monday in Parliament, a day ahead of the Budget presentation. The Economic Survey document will give insights into the state of the economy and various indicators of 2023-24 (April-March) and some outlook for the current year.

• It is prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance and formulated under the supervision of the chief economic adviser. 
• The Economy Survey document may also give some idea about the tone and texture of the actual Budget for 2024-25, to be presented on Tuesday.
• The first economic survey reportedly came into existence in 1950-51, when it used to be a part of the budget documents. In the 1960s, it was separated from the Budget documents and presented the day before the Union Budget. The most important feature that many will look out for is its central theme.

Union Budget 2024 to be presented on July 23

All eyes will be on the major announcements made by the finance minister and the government's forward-looking guidance about the overall economy. With this upcoming budget presentation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will surpass the record set by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who presented five annual budgets and one interim budget between 1959 and 1964 as finance minister. Sitharaman's upcoming budget speech will be her seventh. Sitharaman has surpassed Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P. Chidambaram, and Yashwant Sinha, who each presented five budgets.

A key event before the budget presentation is the 'halwa ceremony'. A few days before the budget is presented, the government has a tradition of conducting a 'halwa ceremony', marking the start of budget document printing.

On budget day, Tuesday, the Finance Minister will present the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha at 11 am. The budget speech will outline the government's fiscal policies, revenue and expenditure proposals, taxation reforms, and other significant announcements.

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The budget is then subjected to detailed debate and discussion in both houses of Parliament, allowing members to scrutinise its provisions, raise concerns, and propose amendments. Following its presentation and approval by Parliament, the Union Budget sets in motion a series of post-budget activities aimed at implementing its provisions and achieving the outlined objectives.

According to projections, India is expected to become the third-largest economy in the world with a GDP of USD 5 trillion in the next three years. Subsequently, India can aspire to become a USD 7 trillion economy in the next six to seven years (by 2030).

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from ANI)