Union Budget 2024: What is the Budget plan and how it's formulated

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, carrying a folder-case containing the Interim Budget 2024, arrives at Parliament House complex to present the budget, in New Delhi. Union Ministers of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Bhagwat Karad are also seen. (PTI)

Amid high expectations from industries and taxpayers, the Union Budget 2024-25 is expected to be tabled by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the latter half of July.

This will be the full Budget for the fiscal year 2024-25. The Finance Minister had presented an Interim Budget on February 1 earlier this year due to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

This Budget holds major significance for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government, which secured a third consecutive victory in the recently concluded 2024 polls.

Ahead of the presentation of the first Budget of NDA 3.0, let's take a look at how big a role 'Budget plan' plays in its making.

What is a Budget plan?

A Budget plan, in simple terms, can be understood as a statement that jots down estimates of the costs as well as revenues that shall be incurred over a specific period.

The Budget features an estimate of the central government's expenditures and receipts for a particular fiscal year, that starts from April 1 and ends on March 31 the next year.

To prepare it, the Finance Ministry undertakes a thorough analysis of the past, while projecting the public's needs. This process starts around six months before the actual presentation of the Budget by the Finance Minister in the Parliament.

To meet all the required goals efficiently, a good Budget plan is a much-needed exercise.

Since the Union Budget impacts the lives of billions of people in the country, it becomes important for the government to come up with an effective Budget plan that should be capable enough to accommodate financial losses and realise financial gains.

During the planning process, the government gathers financial data from several administrative bodies and analyses it to determine financial requirements.

After looking into all the public welfare schemes, appropriate resources were allocated to the various ministries.

The Budget-making process involves government officials across different departments and ministries, public individuals and stakeholders among others.