Nirmala Sitharaman will present the sixth budget today, likely to be a big announcement for women-farmers

Budget 2024 live updates | Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the final and interim budget of the Modi government ahead of the Lok Sabha elections on Thursday i.e. today. This will be his sixth budget. A pre-election budget is called an interim budget. It is hoped that important announcements will be made for farmers and women in this budget. In this final budget of the Modi government, one can see the direction of the political steps for the next elections along with the appreciation of the performance of the last ten years. Along with it, he will explain the direction in which he wants to take the country forward through the budget.

This budget can be based on women, farmers, jobs

In the wake of recent landslide victories in three states, the ruling government can now roll out a series of reliefs on agriculture and other sectors, along with announcing measures to boost consumption in the economy, thereby boosting job creation. It is worth mentioning that this budget is coming just weeks before the code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections is to come into force. So the government may re-announce assistance like the cash assistance for farmers it announced in 2019. Apart from this, one can announce a big step for women too. Apart from this, it will not be surprising if someone advertises for civil servants as well.

Budget Live Updates....

08:00 AM | What will be the schedule of Nirmala Sitharaman?

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will leave her residence after 7.30 am. A photo session of the budget preparation team will be held at Gate No. 2 of the Finance Ministry at 8:15 am. At 8:45 am, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will meet President Draupadi Murmu and approve the budget. After that he will reach Parliament at 9.15 am. The budget will be approved in the cabinet meeting at 10 am. After that, Finance Minister Nirmala's budget speech will begin at 11 am in Parliament. After the budget, a press conference will be held at the National Media Center at 4 pm.

07:50 AM | Which areas are likely to be more focused?

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Interim Budget 2024-25 in the joint session of Parliament at 11 am. According to experts, Sitharaman's speech will mostly focus on possible strategies to increase spending on infrastructure, increase farmers' incomes and increase employment. However, the middle class expects some tax-related announcements to meet rising inflation. But such expectations will not be fulfilled. Because the government's focus is on reducing the fiscal deficit. Since this interim budget is before the Lok Sabha elections, the government can extend existing welfare schemes to increase its chances of victory.

07:45 AM | The full budget will probably come in July

The interim budget seeks Parliament's approval for an advance grant to meet the necessary expenditure of the central government for the first four months of the new financial year starting from April. A new government elected after general elections in April/May may present a full budget in July.