Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to hold pre-budget meeting with state finance ministers on Thursday

Speaking at Hindustan Times Leadership Summit earlier this month, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Budget may have a continued focus on infrastructure development. She also stressed the importance of a consistent tax regime.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold pre-budget consultation with finance ministers of states on Thursday, news agency ANI reported today. This is part of a series of meetings she has been holding before presenting the Budget.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been holding pre-budget consultations with various stakeholders since December 15. (PTI File Photo)

The General Budget is presented by the finance minister every year in Parliament on February 1.

Sitharaman held similar exercise with several industry groups and leading economists during which suggestions were made about rationalisation of income tax slabs, infrastructure status for digital services and incentives to hydrogen storage.

Eight such meetings were held between December 15 and December 22, as per the finance ministry. More than 120 invitees representing seven stakeholder groups participated in them, it added.

The stakeholder groups include representatives and experts from agriculture and agro-processing industry; industry, infrastructure and climate change; financial sector and capital markets; services and trade; social sector; trade union and labour organisation and economists.

The growth this fiscal year is expected to be in double digit. The RBI in its latest bi-monthly monetary policy review pegged a GDP growth of 9.5 per cent in 2021-22.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too has been holding separate meetings before the annual financial document is tabled in Parliament. He held pre-budget interactions with CEOs of companies from various sectors of industries last week.

During the interaction, PM Modi talked about the inherent strength of the country, displayed during the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking at Hindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS) earlier this month, the finance minister said that the Budget may have a continued focus on infrastructure development. She also stressed the importance of a consistent tax regime.

She said that infrastructure development is one of the key focus areas of the government and the “emphasis on infrastructure spending in some form or the other” will continue.