Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to reply to the discussion on the Finance Bill in Lok Sabha later today. She is likely to speak at around 4 pm.
The Lok Sabha has begun discussion on the Finance Bill after the Appropriation Bill for the central government’s expenditure for 2024-25 was passed by the House on Monday.
The passage of the Finance Bill by Parliament will complete the budget process.
Presenting the Union Budget for 2024-25, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 23 pegged the fiscal deficit target at 4.9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). The government intends to bring the fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent of GDP by the financial year 2025-26.
The difference between total revenue and total expenditure of the government is termed the fiscal deficit.
The central government kept the capital expenditure outlay at Rs 11.11 lakh crore for 2024-25, as was announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her interim Budget, ahead of the General elections. A capital expenditure, or capex, is used to set up long-term physical or fixed assets. In 2024-25, it is an 11.11 per cent raise in capex.
