FM Sitharaman To Present 7th Consecutive Budget On July 23; Whose Record Will She Surpass?

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be presenting the full Union Budget for 2024-25 in Lok Sabha on July 23.

Announcing the date on Saturday, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the Budget session will get underway in Parliament a day earlier, on July 22, and conclude on August 12.

“Hon’ble President of India, on the recommendation of Government of India, has approved the proposal for summoning of both the Houses of Parliament for the Budget Session, 2024 from 22nd July, 2024 to 12 August, 2024 (Subject to exigencies of Parliamentary Business). Union Budget, 2024-25 will be presented in Lok Sabha on 23 July, 2024,” Rijiju posted on X.

The Finance Minister had presented an interim Budget in February in view of the Lok Sabha elections which were held from April 19 to June 1.

This will be Sitharaman’s seventh consecutive Budget presentation, making her the first FM to achieve that feat. She had earlier presented five full and one interim Budget.

Sitharaman will surpass the record of former Prime Minister and FM late Morarji Desai, who had presented five full and one interim Budget.

The late Desai, however, holds the overall record, having presented 10 Budgets, followed by P. Chidambaram (9) and Pranab Mukherjee (8).

The upcoming Budget will be the first one to be presented during Narendra Modi’s Prime Ministership when the BJP does not have a majority on its own.

There are high expectations from this Budget after President Droupadi Murmu said in her joint address to Parliament last week that it will feature “many historic steps” and accelerate the pace of reforms.

“This Budget will be an effective document of the government’s far-reaching policies and futuristic vision. Along with major economic and social decisions, many historic steps will also be seen in this Budget… The pace of reforms will be further accelerated in tune with the aspirations of people of India for rapid development,” President Murmu said on June 27.