Budget 2022: FM Nirmala Sitharaman concludes pre-budget meetings with 7 stakeholder groups; seeks suggestions on income tax, investments, digital services, others

Union Minister for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman has chaired pre-budget consultation meetings for Budget 2022-23 (April-March) between 15 and 22 December 2021. Sitharaman held 8 meetings during this period, where she met 120 invitees representing 7 stakeholder groups. 

Sitharaman, who is also the Union Minister for Corporate Affairs, held the meeting virtually. 

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The stakeholder groups included representatives and experts from agriculture and agro-processing industry, infrastructure and climate change; financial sector and capital markets; services and trade, social sector, trade unions and labour organisation and economists. 

The meetings were also attended by Union Ministers of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Dr Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, Finance Secretary TV Somanathan. 

Others who were part of the stakeholder discussions included Ajay Seth, Secretary at the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA); Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary at Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM); Debashish Panda, Secretary, Financial Services; Rajesh Verma, Secretary at Ministry of Corporate Affairs; Tarun Bajaj, Revenue Secretary and other senior officers from the finance ministry were also present during the meetings.  

Secretaries of other concerned ministries and departments also participated through the online mode. 

The stakeholder groups made several suggestions on various issues that included increased R&D spending, infrastructure status for digital services, incentives to hydrogen storage and fuel cell development, rationalisation of income tax slabs, investments in online safety measures etc, among others. 

The Finance Minister thanked the participants for sharing their valuable suggestions and assured that suggestions will be carefully considered while preparing the Budget 2022-23.