Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday presented the Interim Budget 2024 and expressed hope that the good policies and the work done by the Central government will help the BJP return to power for the third consecutive time in a row.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Interim Budget 2024, which will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday.
Attacking the BJP-led Central government, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) MP Vaiko said on Wednesday that the interim budget presentation will be an exercise of "hoodwinking" the people of India.
Keeping with tradition, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman first called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhawan together with her colleagues Ministers of State Bhagwat Karad and Pankaj Chaudhary ahead of the Budget presentation in Parliament on Thursday morning.
Nirmala Sitharaman earlier arrived at the Ministry of Finance, later coming out with a red-coloured briefcase that had the Budget document in paperless form.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday used her trademark 'bahi-khata', a tablet wrapped in a red-coloured cloth with a golden-coloured national emblem embossed on it as she came out of the Finance Ministry.
On Thursday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the interim budget before the country heads for Lok Sabha polls later this year. This will be her sixth Budget as the Finance Minister and last in the second term of the Modi government.
Ahead of the Budget session for the year 2024-2025, which is slated to roll out tomorrow, the President and CEO of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), Mukesh Aghi, said that India's growth story is the result of the last ten years of having a responsible budget.