Modi 3.0 First Budget: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on July 23 at 11 am. The monsoon session of Parliament has begun on July 22 and will continue till August 12. This will be the first budget of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the seventh consecutive budget of Finance Minister Sitharaman.

All documents related to the budget will be available on indiabudget.gov.in. The budget can be seen live on Doordarshan, Sansad TV and various official government YouTube channels. At the same time, Nirmala Sitharaman will break the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. However, the record of presenting the budget the most number of times is still with Desai. Sitharaman will turn 65 next month.

Nirmala Sitharaman will create a record

She was made the first full-time woman finance minister of India in 2019. This year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed the government for the second consecutive time at the Center. Since then, Sitharaman has presented six consecutive budgets, including an interim in February this year. The full budget for the financial year 2024-25 (April, 2024 to March, 2025) will be her seventh consecutive budget. She will surpass the record of Desai, who presented five consecutive full budgets and one interim budget between 1959 and 1964.

What are people's expectations from the budget?

Economists believe that in the general budget to be presented this week, there may be some announcements regarding the new pension system and social security schemes like Ayushman Bharat. However, there is little hope of relief in the matter of income tax. They also say that to accelerate the economy, there is a possibility of emphasis on infrastructure, increase in rural and agriculture allocation and steps to promote micro and small industries."text-align: justify;">Prime Minister Modi Lok Sabha elections, he had said that all citizens above 70 years of age will be brought under the ambit of Ayushman Yojana for free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh. He had also said that the party's focus is on ensuring dignity and better life and employment of the people through investment.

Moody's Analytics has these expectations from the budget

At the same time, Moody's Analytics said that capital expenditure may increase in the full budget for the financial year 2024-25 to be presented in Parliament on Tuesday. Moody's Analytics economist Aditi Raman said on Monday that after losing its absolute majority in the Lok Sabha in June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will try to instill public confidence in the new coalition government.

He said tax rates were kept unchanged in the interim budget but any increase in planned government expenditure would require higher taxes through direct or indirect taxation to prevent the deficit from widening.

He said that at present no major change is expected in India's economic policy. This post-election budget will strengthen the previously set goals. Earlier, the interim budget emphasized on spending on infrastructure, support to the manufacturing sector and fiscal prudence.

Moody's Analytics said the budget will have an impact on business and consumer confidence. The budget will maintain or perhaps even increase funding for capital expenditure on infrastructure and production-linked incentive schemes. Raman said the budget is likely to introduce a more standardized approach to taxation, but the broader emphasis will be on continuation of policies.

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