In a bid to seek suggestions and ideas from the public, the government has invited ideas and suggestions for the upcoming Union Budget 2023-24 which will be presented in February next year.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shared a press release from the 'My Gov' platform in a tweet asking for suggestions from people. "Inviting Ideas and Suggestions for Union Budget 2023-2024 | http://MyGov.in," she said in a tweet.
Every year, the department of economic affairs, ministry of finance invite suggestions to make the Budget-making process participative and inclusive. "Please share your ideas and suggestions that can help transform India into a global economic powerhouse with inclusive growth. In the past, many suggestions shared here have been incorporated into the Annual Budget," the release said.
Steps To Submit Suggestions
Firstly, visit My Gov portal and search inviting ideas and suggestions for Union Budget 2023-24
Login to the account via OTP.
Go to the comment tab and post your suggestion.
The last date for submissions is December 10.
Govt targets to narrow the Budget deficit by 50 bps: Report
Meanwhile, the government is aiming to narrow its budget deficit by at least 50 basis points as authorities balance global investor scrutiny with the need for higher spending as the nation enters an election year, reported news agency Bloomberg.
Nirmala Sitharaman will try to reduce the shortfall to less than 6 per cent of gross domestic product in the year starting April 1, the agency quoted its sources as saying. The Budget 2023 will be the final full-year budget before crucial elections in 2024, a time when governments typically loosen the purse strings.
The target comes amid food and energy bills being inflated by the war in Ukraine, the current-account deficit and the weakening rupee. Subsidies on food, fertilizer and fuel will cost at least $67 billion in the year ending March 2023, or 2.1 per cent of GDP, against the Budget estimate of 3.2 trillion rupees ($39.2 billion), Bloomberg News had reported earlier.
The Reserve Bank of India has already lost $100 billion from its reserves to support the currency and given the strength of the dollar, it’s perhaps wiser to allow reasonable amounts of depreciation and preserve stockpiles of the greenback, the sources added.
Meanwhile, a separate report said the Centre is also likely to meet its target for the fiscal deficit. The government may also do better than the budgeted FY23 fiscal deficit target as the revenue game is relatively better, reported the Economic Times. "We are confident that we will meet the fiscal deficit target. It could even be better in percentage terms,” according to an official report.
The Centre had pegged its FY23 fiscal deficit target at 6.4 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, in light of the government's expected to meet its target, several ministries may not be in a place to fully utilise their allocation of the year.