Important figures to be aware of in Nirmala Sitharaman’s seventh consecutive budget
Budget 2024: All eyes will be on whether Sitharaman provides tax relief to the middle class, leaving more money in their hands, as tax buoyancy is on the rise.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her 7th consecutive Budget on Tuesday, laying out a roadmap for a developed India by 2047 as well as giving a glimpse of 10 years of performance.
All eyes will be on whether Sitharaman provides tax relief to the middle class, leaving more money in their hands, as tax buoyancy is on the rise. Besides, the market also expects the government to remain on the fiscal glide path to reduce the fiscal deficit to 4.5 per cent of GDP by 2025-26.
Ms Sitharaman, who will be presenting her seventh consecutive Budget, in her first Budget in 2019 had replaced the leather briefcase – used for decades to carry Budget documents – with the traditional ‘bahi-khata’ wrapped in red cloth. This year’s Budget will be paperless like the last three years.
The government has projected a fiscal deficit of 4.5 per cent of GDP in FY26.
* Capital expenditure: The government’s planned capital expenditure for this fiscal is Rs 11.1 lakh crore, higher than Rs 9.5 lakh crore in the previous fiscal. The government is pushing for infrastructure creation and is also encouraging states to increase capital expenditure.
