New Delhi

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhawan ahead of presenting the Union Budget 2024 in Parliament. Continuing the tradition, the President fed her 'dahi-cheeni' (curd and sugar), a ritual performed to bestow good luck before undertaking significant tasks.

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman along with Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan before presenting the Union Budget. The… pic.twitter.com/y386kgOyUG

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This Budget marks Sitharaman's seventh consecutive Budget, surpassing former Prime Minister Morarji Desai's record of six consecutive Budgets. The Finance Minister and her team briefed President Murmu on the Budget provisions before heading to the Cabinet meeting.

Earlier in the day, FM Sitharaman left the North Block offices of the Finance Ministry with a digital copy of the Union Budget 2024-25, and her team posed for a traditional photo with the red 'Bahi Khatha' digital tablet. Documents for the 2024 Union Budget and the Jammu and Kashmir Budget also reached Parliament, with Sitharaman set to present the Budget for the Union Territory after the General Budget.

The Budget Session began on July 22 and will end on August 12. On Monday, the Finance Minister presented the Economic Survey in Parliament, projecting India's GDP growth rate at 6.5 to 7 percent for 2024-25. The Survey emphasized the potential for sustained 7 percent growth if structural reforms continue, focusing on private investment, MSME growth, agricultural potential, financing the green transition, bridging the education-employment gap, and strengthening state capacity.

According to Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran, achieving a 7 percent GDP growth rate is feasible despite the challenging global environment. The Survey highlighted the need for bottom-up reforms and improved governance to ensure balanced and inclusive growth amid global trends like geo-economic fragmentation, the push for self-reliance, climate change, technological advancements, and limited policy space.

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Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary stated that this Budget, the first of the third Narendra Modi government, will align with the Prime Minister's mantra of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas," focusing on changes in the income tax structure and improving the ease of doing business in India.