Union Budget 2024: FM Nirmala Sitharaman Chairs Meeting With State Finance Ministers

Union Budget 2024: As part of the pre-budget consultation, the union minister for finance & corporate affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman, on Saturday, chaired another meeting with finance ministers of states and UTs.

This crucial meeting set the stage for the upcoming full budget formulation, bringing together top stakeholders to provide valuable insights and recommendations. The meeting was also attended by senior officials from the ministry.

“Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. @nsitharaman chaired the #PreBudget consultations with the Finance Ministers of States and Union Territories (with Legislature) for the upcoming Union Budget 2024-25, in New Delhi, today,” the finance ministry posted on social media platform X.

The meeting is being attended by the union minister of state for finance, and chief ministers of Goa, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim.

Deputy chief ministers of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana also attended the consultation meeting.

State finance ministers and other ministers and senior officers from the states and union territories (with legislature) and the union government were also part of the meeting.

In her remarks, FM Sitharaman underlined the government’s support to states through timely tax devolution, Finance Commission grants, and arrears of GST Compensation being provided for providing stimulus to growth.

Regarding the ‘Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment’, Sitharaman mentioned that while most of the loans are untied, a part of it is conditional-linked to citizen-centric reforms by states and sector-specific capital projects and requested the states to avail these loans by fulfilling requisite criteria.

Nirmala Sitharaman is set to become the first finance minister to present seven consecutive Union Budgets, surpassing the record of Morarji Desai, who had presented six budgets in a row.

Earlier, the ministry had invited suggestions on direct and indirect taxes and changes in laws to reduce compliances for the 2024-25 budget from trade and industry associations.

The suggestions could include changes in the duty structure, rates and ideas on broadening of tax base on both direct and indirect taxes giving economic justification for the same, as per the ministry.

For changes in customs and excise duties, the trade and industry would have to supplement and justify their demand with relevant statistical information about the production, prices, and revenue implications of the changes suggested.

The request for correction of inverted duty structure would have to be supported by value addition at each stage of manufacturing of the commodity.

About direct taxes, the ministry said the suggestions could be also on reducing compliances, providing tax certainty and reducing litigations.

It said the government policy in the medium term is to phase out tax incentives, deductions and exemptions while simultaneously rationalising rates of tax.

Lok Sabha Session

The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will begin on June 24 during which new members of the Lower House will take oath and the Speaker will be elected.

President Droupadi Murmu will address a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on June 27 and is likely to outline the new government’s roadmap for the next five years. The session will conclude on July 3.

The first three days of the first session will see the newly elected leaders taking oath and electing the Speaker of the House.

Budget Session

The full budget for 2024-25 is expected to be presented in Parliament in the second half of July.

Both Houses of Parliament are expected to reconvene in the third week of July for the presentation of the Union Budget.