PM Modi, Sitharaman Meet Economists Ahead Of Budget 2024-25

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting eminent economists to elicit their views and suggestions for the upcoming Budget, according to a senior government official.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery also attended the meeting among economists and sectoral experts.

This comes ahead of the Union Budget for 2024–25, which is scheduled to be presented by Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha on July 23. An interim budget had been presented in February, preceding the Lok Sabha elections.

Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran, economists Surjit Bhalla and Ashok Gulati and veteran banker KV Kamath were some of the eminent members present in the meeting.

The Budget for 2024–25 will be the first major economic document of the Modi 3.0 government, which, among other things, is expected to lay the road map for making India a developed nation by 2047.

President Droupadi Murmu, in her address to the joint sitting of Parliament last month, indicated that the government would come out with historic steps to accelerate the pace of reforms.

The budget will be an effective document of the government's far-reaching policies and futuristic vision, said Murmu.

Sitharaman has already held discussions with various stakeholders, including economists and captains of Indian industry, on the forthcoming budget.

Several experts have urged the government to provide tax relief to the common man to boost consumption, take steps to check inflation, and accelerate economic growth. The economy recorded a growth rate of 8.2% in fiscal 2024.

(With inputs from PTI)