Ahead of Union Budget 2024, FM Sitharaman says reforms momentum, 'ease of living' to continue

Ahead of the upcoming rollout of the full-year Union Budget for FY2024-25, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters on Wednesday, June 12, that the government's focus will remain on economic reforms and "ease of living" for citizens.

According to Sitharaman, the reforms momentum gained pace from 2014 onwards and will continue further under the third tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Centre is also committed to ensure "ease of living" for citizens, News18 reported Sitharaman as saying. Her comments came as she re-assumed the charge of the Ministry of Finance.

While presenting the interim budget in February, Sitharaman had left the income tax slabs unchanged. There were no major sops announced for the masses, as the fiscal document was largely a vote on account ahead of the impending Lok Sabha elections.

Along with finance, Sitharaman would also continue to head the corporate affairs ministry.

When will Union Budget 2024 be tabled?

The exact date for the release of Union Budget 2024 is yet to be known. As per the precedent, the full-year budget in general election years is usually presented in the first week of July.

Earlier today, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced that the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha -- whose members were elected in the recently concluded general elections -- will take place from June 24 to July 3.

The Rajya Sabha proceedings have been scheduled from June 27 to July 3.

In 2019, when the previous general elections were held, the full-year budget was presented by her on July 5. This time, however, reports claim the full-year budget would be presented in the third week of July.

Notably, this will be the seventh consecutive Union Budget to be presented by Sitharaman, who was the finance minister throughout the second tenure of the Modi-led central government.