Govt going for vote on account on Feb 1, no big bang announcements: Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the upcoming Union Budget on February 1, 2024 to be presented in Parliament ahead of the Lok Sabha elections will not be a regular budget but only a vote on account so the government is not likely to make any “spectacular announcements”.

The vote on account is an interim budget through which the incumbent government seeks Parliament’s approval for expenditure required to run the country till the new government takes over.

Speaking at the CII’s Global Economic Policy Forum 2023 in the national capital, Sitharaman said, “I don’t want to be a spoilsport, but the 1st February Budget is just a vote on account; a budget to meet expenditure till the next government comes to power. No spectacular announcements. You will have to wait till after the general election.”

Talking about global economic policy, Sitharaman said there was a need for global engagement on growth and it is necessary to keep momentum on concerns of the Global South.

She said that the cost of transition energy is a concern and EU’s carbon tax norms against the global south are morally inappropriate.