Union Finance Minister to present J-K Budget today

This is the fifth Budget for the Union Territory after the abrogation of Article 370.

In February, the Finance Minister proposed an interim Budget of Rs 1.18 lakh crore for Jammu and Kashmir. It envisaged a fiscal deficit of Rs 20,760 crore, Capital Expenditure Contribution towards Gross State Domestic Produce (GSDP) at 14.64 per cent and an expected growth in GSDP at 7.5 per cent.

The Interim Budget 2024-25 reflected the felt needs and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and commitment of the Union Territory Government for peace, progress and prosperity. The immediate goal was to accelerate the pace of economic development in the Union Territory and make it multidimensional.

The Finance Minister is set to present the Union Budget 2024 in Parliament today, marking her seventh consecutive budget and eclipsing the late Moraji Desai's record of six consecutive budgets, which is likely to focus on changes in the income tax structure and improving the ease of doing business in India.

At 11 am today, the much-awaited full budget for 2024-25, the first under the Modi 3.0 government, will be presented on the floor of the Parliament.

All eyes will be on the major announcements made by the Finance Minister and the government's forward-looking guidance about the overall economy.

Sitharaman will lay on the table a statement (in English and Hindi) of the estimated receipts and expenditures of the government for the year 2024-25 in the Rajya Sabha.

She will table the budget one hour after the conclusion of the presentation of the Union Budget 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha.

The Finance Minister also lay on the table, under subsection (1) of Section 3 of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003, a copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers: medium-term fiscal policy strategy statement and macro-economic framework statement. (ANI)