Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is going to present the interim budget on 01 February 2024. This budget is said to be the last budget of the government before the next general elections to be held in April-May 2024. The date of presenting the budget is always February 1, but preparations for it start several months in advance. In such a situation, it is important to know what the Constitution says about the Indian budget and what preparations does the government make to present it?
What is budget, where is it mentioned in the Constitution?: Not only this, budget has not been directly mentioned in the Constitution till now. However, 'Article 112' of the Constitution discusses 'Annual Financial Statement'. Under this article itself, it is mandatory for the government to give accounts of its earnings and expenditure every year. According to this article, the right to present the budget has been given to the President only. But the President himself does not present the budget, rather he can ask a minister to present the budget on his behalf. This happened recently in the country when in 2019, when Arun Jaitley fell ill, Piyush Goyal presented the budget despite not being the Finance Minister. However, generally the Finance Minister presents the budget.
Origin of the word budget?: Not only this, the word budget is derived from the French word Bougette, which means leather bag. It is also said that the government and industrialists like to keep the documents of their earnings and expenses in a leather bag, hence the Finance Minister also comes to Parliament with his documents in a leather bag. This word has been in use in Britain which further reached India.
What is budget?: Budget is the account of one year. Before presenting the budget, a survey is conducted in which the government's earnings are estimated. In the budget, the government estimates how much it will earn through direct taxes, indirect taxes, railway fares and different ministries. The survey also finds out what the estimated expenditure of the government is going to be in the coming year. Simply put, the budget is also the details of the estimated revenue (earnings) and expenses (estimated expenditure) in a year. The Finance Minister is seen giving details of his earnings and expenses in his budget speech. This is called the general budget or federal budget. The budget period is one year.
Who prepares the budget in India?: The process of preparing the budget in India is very complex. In making it, along with the Finance Ministry, NITI Aayog and expenditure related ministries are involved. The Finance Ministry also prepares a proposal for expenditure on the request of these different ministries. After this, the work of making the budget is done by the Budget Section of the Department of Economic Affairs under the Finance Ministry.
What is the process of budget preparation? Let us learn about its different stages
Step 1: The Budget Section issues a circular to all Central Ministries, States, Union Territories, Autonomous Institutions, Departments, Armed Forces, ordering them to prepare estimates for the coming year. After the ministries and departments put forward their demands, the Expenditure Department of the Finance Ministry starts making agreements with all the central ministries.
Second phase: Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Revenue Department come in contact with different stakeholders like farmers, traders, economists, civil society organizations and also ask them to present their views on the budget. This process is also called pre-budget discussion, because it is also a process before preparing the budget. After this the Finance Minister takes the final decision regarding tax. Before the budget is finalized, all the proposals are also discussed with the PM and he is informed about the next decisions.
Third and final step: As a final step, the Finance Ministry receives receipts of income and expenditure from all the departments involved in deciding the budget. From the data collected through this, a plan for next year's estimated earnings and expenses is prepared. Along with this, the government once again holds a meeting with the states, bankers, people from the agricultural sector, economists and trade associations to finalize the budget. In this, things like providing tax exemption and financial assistance to these stakeholders are discussed. Finally the Finance Ministry prepares the Budget Speech based on the Revised Budget Estimates.
Why is 'Halwa Ceremony' held before the presentation of the Budget?: Not only this, the Finance Minister also organizes a Halwa Ceremony just before the Budget. This Halwa ceremony is said to signify that the budget has been finalized and its printing work has started. In this ceremony, gratitude is expressed to the large number of officers and employees who prepare the budget. In fact, all the officers of the Budget Department of the Finance Ministry who are engaged in the budget making work, are prevented from even contacting their families till the budget is presented in the Parliament. In such a situation, the government organizes Halwa ceremony to express gratitude for their hard work.
Which Finance Minister gave the longest budget speech?: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Union Budget 2021 speech is the longest budget speech in Indian history. It continued for 2 hours 40 hours. Meanwhile, he had broken his own record of 2 hours 17 minutes for presenting the Union Budget 2020. Before him, the record of the longest budget speech was in the name of late Arun Jaitley. His 2014 budget speech was 2 hours 10 minutes long.
Who presented the country's first paperless budget?: Not only this, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also has the record of presenting the country's first paperless budget. Due to the Covid crisis, another important change was made in the budget of 2021. This budget was the country's first 'paperless budget'. All its copies were stored digitally. After this, the budget of 2022 and 2023 was also paperless budget. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made another change in the budget. He stopped using the briefcase to carry budget related documents. Now she is seen carrying budget related documents in a bag that looks like a ledger.
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