Budget Session to start on January 31 and continue till February 9: Report

The Union Budget session is set to start on January 31 and continue till February 9, sources told India Today. The Interim Budget for FY25 will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1.

The Parliament session will start with an address by President Draupadi Murmu to both houses on January 31, which officially marks the start of the Budget session.

The sources also said that there may be a proposal to double PM Kisan Samman Nidhi for women farmers in the interim budget. The plan is likely to be announced in the budget on February 1 and could cost the government an additional Rs 12,000 crore, Reuters reported.

Unlike previous years, the upcoming budget will be an Interim Budget rather than a full one since Lok Sabha elections are due in two-three months. The ruling government presents the Interim Budget to Parliament in an election year or when there is not enough time for a full budget. The incoming government after the elections will be responsible for formulating the complete annual budget.

This year, a concise document on the state of India's economy is expected to be presented for 2024-25 prior to the interim budget on February 1 instead of a comprehensive Economic Survey like other years.

Last year, the Union Budget for 2023-24 was presented on February 1, 2023. In the first part of the parliamentary session, a general discussion on the budget was held in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

The Lok Sabha discussion lasted 14 hours and 45 minutes, exceeding the allotted time of 12 hours.

The Rajya Sabha discussion lasted 2 hours and 21 minutes, well below its allotted time of 12 hours. A total of 145 Lok Sabha members and 12 Rajya Sabha members participated in the budget discussion.

During this session, a total of eight bills (eight in the Lok Sabha) were also introduced. The Finance Bill, 2023; The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill, 2023; The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation (No. 2) Bill, 2023; The Appropriation (No. 2) Bill, 2023; The Appropriation Bill, 2023 and The Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023 were passed and returned by both the Houses.