No major announcement expected in budget 2024: Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the forthcoming Union Budget, scheduled for February 1, 2024 might not feature any "spectacular announcements." Sitharaman suggested that the substantive announcements would likely be deferred until the regular budget in July, hinting that the upcoming budget might serve as a "vote on account."

The "vote on account" essentially functions as an interim budget, permitting the current government to seek parliamentary sanction for the necessary expenses to sustain operations until a new government assumes power. This interim measure is intended to bridge the financial gap until a comprehensive budget can be formulated.

The finance minister will present an interim budget on February 1, 2024, for the 2024-25 fiscal, beginning April 1, 2024, in the Lok Sabha.

"Emerging markets and the Global South need technology-driven instruments to make their economies transparent and well-governed and to make sure that everybody benefits from governance. India’s FinTech revolution, which showcases itself through the payment revolution happening digitally, has shown that it is possible to have inclusion, better governance, and save money through technology," the minister said at the CII Global Economic Policy Forum 2023. 

Speaking about digital technology, the Sitharaman said that innovations have been rapidly scaled up and adapted by people across sections of society. 

"The digital technology adoption is one thing where the Government had invested and built the infra for -whether for communication, marketing, health and health service provisions or whether it was a financial tech for inclusion. It proved that not only do our innovations work but have been rapidly scaled up and adapted by people across sections of society," Sitharaman added.