Budget 2024-25: Nirmala Sitharaman engages in pre-Budget talks with trade, services representatives

Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday held discussions with representatives of trade and services sectors, marking the seventh round of pre-Budget talks after she met a group of experts last week. The latest pre-Budget talks come roughly a month before the much-anticipated full-year Union Budget of the Narendra Modi 3.0 government, which assumed power this month following a six-weeks-long polling exercise.   

The Union Minister took suggestions in the meeting, held in the national capital.

The pre-Budget meeting was also attended by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, the Finance Secretary and Secretary of the Department of Expenditure, the Secretaries of the Department of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Chief Economic Adviser, the finance ministry wrote in a post on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter). 

Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. @nsitharaman chairs the seventh Pre-Budget Consultation with representatives of trade and services to take suggestions for the upcoming General Budget 2024-25, in New Delhi, today.

The #PreBudget consultation meeting was also… pic.twitter.com/SEJR0ACVTD

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) June 25, 2024

The pre-Budget talks come days after the government doled out the 17th instalment of financial aid to eligible farmers under its flagship PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, also known as the PM-KISAN programme.

The full Budget for the current financial year, which ends on March 31, 2025, is expected to be presented in Parliament in July. 

What is the difference between a Vote on Account and a full-year Budget?

A vote on account is a temporary provision for a government to meet its expenses in an election year and is followed by a full-year Budget by a new government that assumes office after the election. 

A full-year budget outlines the government's revenue and expenditure for the entire fiscal year, including detailed allocations for various sectors, new initiatives, and policy changes.

The main difference between a Vote on Account and a full-year Budget lies in the duration and scope of financial planning between the two mechanisms.

With inputs from agencies