UNION BUDGET

The Union Budget of India is the country’s comprehensive annual financial statement and is mentioned in Article 112 of the Indian constitution. It is a detailed account of the government’s finances including its revenues from various sources and outlays that will be incurred on different activities. It is important to note that the term “budget” is not mentioned in our constitution. 

The Union Budget is presented on 01st February every year since 2017. Prepared by the Department of Economic Affairs under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, it is presented by the means of a finance bill and appropriation bill. These bills need to be passed in the Parliament before the budget can come into effect on 01st April.

It is a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government in a financial year. In addition to it, the Budget contains:

1-Estimates of revenue and capital receipts,

2-Ways and means to raise the revenue,

3-Estimates of expenditure,

4-Details of the actual receipts and expenditure of the closing financial year and the reasons for any deficit or surplus in that year, and

5-economic and financial policy of the coming year, i.e., taxation proposals, prospects of revenue, spending programme and introduction of new schemes/projects.