How is the budget prepared and what are the preparations? Know all the information about it

Budget 2024: The final preparations for the Union Budget 2024 have begun. The Finance Minister celebrated the traditional Halwa ceremony on Tuesday (July 16), which marks the beginning of the final phase of budget preparation. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on July 23. In such a situation, let us know what the Constitution says about the budget and what preparations the government is making to present it.

Origin of the word Budget?

First of all, if we know about the origin of the word budget, then the word budget comes from the French word baguette, which means a leather bag. It is believed that the government and businessmen keep the documents of their income and expenditure in a leather bag, so the Finance Minister also reaches the Parliament with his documents in a leather bag. This word was popular in Britain and after that it became popular in India.

What is budget and where is it mentioned in the Constitution?

There is no direct mention of the budget in the Indian Constitution. But Article 112 of the Constitution deals with the annual financial statement. Under this section, it is mandatory for the government to give an account of its income and expenditure every year. Apart from this, the President has the right to present the budget, but he does not present the budget. But he can ask a minister to present the budget in his place. Usually the budget is presented by the Finance Minister but in 2019 it happened that Piyush Goyal presented the budget despite Arun Jaitley not being the Finance Minister due to illness.

Who prepares the budget in India?

The process of preparing the budget in India is very complex. The Finance Ministry along with the Niti Aayog and the Expenditure Ministry are involved in preparing it. The Finance Ministry prepares expenditure proposals on the request of these various ministries. After this, the work of the budget is done by the Budget Department under the Finance Ministry.

What is the process of preparing a budget? Know its three stages

first round

The Budget Section issues a circular to all central ministries, state and union territories, autonomous organisation departments, armed forces, instructing them to prepare the budget for the next year.

second stage

The Department of Economic Affairs and the Revenue Department contact farmers, traders, economists, civil society organizations during this period and know their views on the budget. This process takes place before the budget, hence it is called pre-budget discussion. After this discussion, the Finance Minister takes the final decision regarding tax. Also, before finalizing the budget, it is discussed with the Prime Minister and he is also informed.

third step

In the final stage, the Finance Ministry obtains revenue and expenditure receipts from all the departments involved while setting the budget. The estimated income and expenditure plan for the next year is prepared from the collected data. Apart from this, the government will once again hold meetings with the state, bankers, people from the agricultural sector, economists and trade associations to finalize the budget. In which issues like tax exemptions and financial assistance to these stakeholders are discussed. Finally, the Finance Ministry prepares the budget speech based on the revised budget estimates.