Union Budget 2025: The path changed many times in the journey that started after independence, know the brief account…

New Delhi. Like every year, on February 1, that moment will also come when Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the general budget in the Parliament. This budget not only outlines the estimated income and expenditure of the country for the coming financial year, but will also affect aspects of the lives of the general public.

This journey, started by India's first Finance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty on November 26, 1947, with the country's independence, has continued uninterruptedly till Nirmala Sitharaman. This Union Budget will determine the fiscal behavior of the country for the financial year starting from April 1 and ending on March 31 next year.

The Union Budget is presented every year on 01 February. However, its form changes in election years. At that time the budget is presented in two parts. An interim budget before the elections and a full budget after the election results.

The routes changed several times in this journey. Till 1998, the budget was presented at 5 pm on the last working day of February, but in 1999, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee led government changed the time of presenting the budget, and for the first time it was presented at 11 am. Is done. The change was made considering this was a more practical time for discussion and implementation.

Funds are allocated to various government ministries and departments through the Union Budget. In this budget we manage areas like defence, education, healthcare, infrastructure and subsidies. During the preparation of the portfolios, extensive discussions are held with various government departments, experts and other stakeholders.

The second major change in the budget came in the year 2017-18, when the presentation date of the budget was changed and it started being presented on 1 February. From this time onwards, the decades old tradition of presenting a separate railway budget was also ended.

Many meetings are held before the budget. In these meetings, discussions are held keeping in mind the needs of the nation. The Union Budget plays an important role in shaping the economic policies of India. The Union Budget is divided into two parts. It consists of revenue budget and capital budget. The revenue budget contains information about the daily expenses of the government such as operating expenses, salaries, pensions and routine services.

The main objective of the capital budget focuses on long-term investments such as infrastructure development, educational projects and healthcare initiatives. However, when capital expenditure exceeds the revenue budget there is a fiscal deficit. The budget affects everything from tax system to public welfare schemes. In simple language, budget is a document which affects not only the work of the government but also the common citizens of the country.