Budget 2023: Finance ministers of states request more financial assistance in pre-Budget meet with FM Sitharaman

Budget 2023: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held the pre-budget meeting on Fri day in New Delhi with the finance ministers of all states and union territories. Finance ministers of all states except West Bengal, Gujarat, and Delhi participated in the meeting. 
 
In the pre-budget meeting, the states placed the demand for increasing the financial assistance in central schemes and sharing of access income with the states to the Finance Minister.  
 
Due to the policies of the Center, and the effect on the Fiscal Autonomy of the States, the burden on the states has increased in the implementation of central schemes. States requested the Finance Ministry to help them with more financial assistance to implement the scheme. The ministers of the states also asked that there should be the provision of interest-free loans to the states for capital expenditure.  

The states asked the Center for early release of outstanding GST compensation and review GST rates. 

 
The Finance Ministry has been holding several pre-budget meetings with various industry leaders from different domains and several other departments of the ministries as well to get their suggestions and inputs for the budget 2023. Along with the Finance Minister, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, Ajay Seth and Secretary (designate), Sanjay Malhotra from the Department of Revenue and CEA Dr. Anantha Nageswaran along with several other senior officials of the Finance Ministry have been a part of the series of pre-budget meetings. 
 
 
The Finance Minister has so far met representatives from the financial sector and capital markets along with the agriculture and agro-processing industry. The pre-budget meetings with trade union representatives and economists are scheduled for 28 November. 
 
Budget 2023 will be the last full Budget for Modi 2.0 government before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections that will be held in April-May of 2024. 
 
The Budget for 2023-24 is likely to be tabled on February 1, 2023.