Union Budget 2024: Your quick guide to the document and why it is being presented in July this year

With the Union Budget 2024 scheduled to be presented in July, Nirmala Sitharaman will become the first finance minister to present seven Union Budgets in a row.

What is the Union Budget?

India’s Union Budget is defined as an "annual financial statement'' of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government of India, according to article 112 of the constitution.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with the interim budget of 2024 (AFP)

The budget highlights the financial priorities of the government and therefore, acts as a roadmap for the nation’s finances.

It depicts how much money the government plans to spend and on what areas it intends to do so, while also showing how much money the government estimates to make through its activities.

As a result, the budget has a direct impact on every single aspect of the country, spanning from industries to the common man.

What does the Union Budget consist of?

The Union Budget is divided into the revenue budget and the capital budget, both of which further get divided into receipts and expenditures.

The revenue budget outlines the government’s day-to-day spendings like those on public services, and also earnings of the government through taxes and non-tax sources like government fees and collection of fines.

The capital budget on the other hand, focuses on long-term spendings like those on infrastructure and also receivables like long-term loans.

When will the Union Budget 2024 be presented?

The union budget 2024 is scheduled to be presented on July 23, 2024 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who will become the first finance minister to present seven consecutive union budgets in a row, surpassing Morarji Desai who presented six consecutive budgets. The budget session in itself will go on from July 22 to August 12.

Why is the Union Budget being presented in July this year?

The Union Budget will be presented in July this year as it was an election year.

The budget is usually presented in February, but whenever an election year comes, there will be two budgets presented. One in February before the elections, called the interim budget, which is for the period till the election results come in, and another one later in July, for the rest of the financial year after the elections, also sometimes known as the full budget or actual budget.

Why is the Union Budget usually presented in February?

The Union Budget is usually presented in February as the financial year ends in the next month on March 31 and new budgetary policies come into effect on April 1, which is the next financial year.

The budget was traditionally presented on the final working day of February. But in 2017, the then Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley changed this 92-year old norm dating back to the colonial era, and started presenting the budget on February 1, citing that the extra time of one month would help the government prepare for the new changes for the next financial year.