PM Modi holds discussion with economists, NITI Aayog officials in run-up to Budget

NEW DELHI, (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a meeting with senior NITI Aayog officials and leading economists as part of the wider consultations in the run-up to the Union Budget 2024-25.

The Modi 3.0 government will present its first full budget on July 23.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran, Economist Surjit Bhalla, Agricultural Economist Ashok Gulati and veteran banker K V Kamath were also present at the meeting.

This will be the first major economic document of the Modi 3.0 government, which is expected to outline a road map for making India a developed nation by 2047.

FM Sitharaman has already held widespread discussions including captains of Indian industry, state finance ministers and economists to elicit their views for the forthcoming Budget.

After having presented an interim budget ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Finance Minister will now present the full budget for 2024-25 that ensures the economy continues on the high growth trajectory and creates more jobs during the third term of the Modi government.

Sitharaman is expected to increase the exemption limit for income tax to give some relief to the middle class. This would place more disposable income in the hands of consumers and lead to an increase in demand to fuel economic growth.

Given the low fiscal deficit, the hefty Rs 2.11 lakh crore dividend from the RBI and the buoyancy in taxes, the Finance Minister has a lot of headroom for pushing ahead with policies aimed at accelerating growth and implementing social welfare schemes aimed at uplifting the poor.

Prime Minister Modi has already declared that “the next 5 years will be a decisive fight against poverty.”

FM Sitharaman will be presenting the budget at a time when the Indian economy has clocked a robust 8.2 per cent growth in 2023-24, which is the fastest among the world’s major economies, and inflation is coming down to below 5 per cent. The RBI has stated that the economy is headed to an over 8 per cent growth trajectory.

The fiscal deficit has also been reduced from more than 9 per cent of GDP in 2020-21 to the targeted level of 5.1 per cent for 2024-25. This has strengthened the macroeconomic fundamentals of the economy. S&P Global Rating raised India's sovereign rating outlook to 'positive' from 'stable', citing the country's improving finances and strong economic growth.