Budget Session Of Parliament Begins Today

The Budget Session of Parliament will begin today. The Session which will conclude on August 12th, will have 16 sittings. This Session will mainly be devoted to the financial business relating to the Union Budget for 2024–25.

On the first day of the session, the Economic Survey 2023–24 will be tabled in Parliament, which provides statistical information and analysis on various sectors of the economy. On Tuesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman will present the Union Budget 2024–25 in the Lok Sabha. It will be the first budget of the Narendra Modi government in its third term. 

On the same day, the Budget for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for 2024 will also be presented. During the session, the government is likely to introduce six new bills. This includes the Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, the Boilers Bill, the Bhartiya Vayuyan Vidheyak, the Coffee (Promotion and Development) Bill, and the Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill. 

Yesterday, the government held an all-party meeting in New Delhi to ensure the smooth functioning of both houses. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government is ready to debate any issue with an open heart. He emphasised that it is the responsibility of both the government and the opposition to run Parliament smoothly. Mr. Rijiju also expressed gratitude to the floor leaders of the parties who provided valuable suggestions. He requested everyone to cooperate for the smooth functioning of the budget session.

During the meeting, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is Deputy Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha, thanked all the leaders for raising and drawing attention to the important issues



highlighted in the meeting. He also stressed the need to maintain the sanctity of the Parliament during its proceedings.

Congress demanded that discussion should take place on the alleged NEET paper leak case, Railway Security, Agniveer Scheme, Centre-State relations and the security situation in Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir, among other issues, in the session. In a social media post, party leader Jairam Ramesh highlighted that his party also demanded that discussion should be held on issues related to the economy in the country.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Economic Survey 2023-2024 in Parliament today. The document has been prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance and formulated under the supervision of Chief Economic Adviser Dr. V. AnanthaRE Nageswaran. In a post on X, the Finance Ministry said that the Chief Economic Adviser will address the media today afternoon after the Economic Survey is presented in the Lok Sabha.

A report card on the economy and also the growth outlook ahead, the survey gives a detailed account of the state of the economy, prospects and policy challenges. The Economic Survey provides statistical information and analysis on various sectors of the economy as well as data on employment, GDP growth, inflation, and the budget deficit.

India has retained its tag as the fastest-growing economy. The economic survey will be presented at a time when the IMF has just raised India’s economic growth forecast for the Financial Year 2024-25 to 7 per cent from 6.8 per cent projected in April. In June, the Reserve Bank of India revised the growth forecast to 7.2 from 7 per cent.