Pre-Budget Consultations for Union Budget 2024-2025 Conclude

The Pre-Budget consultations for the Union Budget 2024-25, which began on 19th June 2024, concluded on 5th July 2024. These consultations were chaired by Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, and were held at the Ministry of Finance.

SEVENTH CONSULTATION WITH TRADE AND SERVICES SECTOR

On 25th June 2024, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the seventh Pre-Budget Consultation with representatives from the trade and services sectors in New Delhi. This meeting was part of a series of consultations aimed at gathering suggestions and insights from various stakeholders for the upcoming General Budget 2024-25.

PARTICIPATION AND REPRESENTATION

The in-person consultations saw participation from more than 120 invitees across 10 different stakeholder groups. These groups included:

• Experts and representatives from farmer associations and agriculture economists
• Trade unions
• Education and health sector
• Employment and skilling
• MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises)
• Trade and services
• Industry
• Economists
• Financial sector and capital markets
• Infrastructure, energy, and urban sector

KEY ATTENDEES

The meetings were attended by several key officials and ministers, including:

• Union Ministers of State for Finance, Shri Pankaj Chaudhary
• Finance Secretary and Secretary Expenditure, Dr. T.V. Somanathan
• Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Shri Ajay Seth
• Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), Shri Tuhin K. Pandey
• Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Shri Vivek Joshi
• Secretary, Department of Revenue, Shri Sanjay Malhotra
• Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Shri Manoj Govil
• Secretaries of concerned ministries
• Chief Economic Adviser, Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran
• Senior officers from the Ministry of Finance and other concerned ministries

GRATITUDE AND ASSURANCE

During the consultations, Union Finance Minister Smt. Sitharaman expressed her gratitude to all participants for their valuable suggestions. She assured the experts and representatives that their inputs would be carefully examined & considered in the preparation of the Union Budget 2024-25.

This series of consultations underscores the government’s commitment to inclusive and participatory budget-making, ensuring that diverse voices and perspectives are considered in the formulation of the nation’s financial policies for the upcoming year.