PM Modi, FM Sitharaman Meet Top Economists Ahead Of Budget 2024; Job Creation On The Agenda

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a meeting with top economists and sectoral experts, to discuss the Union Budget. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is also present at the meeting. The meeting, which started around 12 pm today, focussed on job generation, Viksit Bharat, and capital expenditure (capex).

Sources told CNN-News18 that the focus of the government will be on job generation.

During the meeting, the discussion took place on topics like Viksit Bharat, capital expenditure (capex) and job generation. The prime minister also stressed the need for job generation as well as Viksit Bharat.

Among the experts and economists were Surjit Bhalla, A K Bhattacharya, Prof Ashok Gulati, Gaurabh Ballabh, Amita Batra, Mahendra Dev, and K V Kamath, among others.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Budget for 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha on July 23.

Besides economists and sectoral experts, the prime minister’s meeting has also been attended by Niti-Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery and other members.

This will be the first major economic document of the Modi 3.0 government, which, among other things, is expected to lay the road map for making India a developed nation by 2047.

President Droupadi Murmu, in her address to the joint sitting of Parliament last month, had indicated that the government would come out with historic steps to accelerate the pace of reforms.

She also said the Budget will be an effective document of the government’s far-reaching policies and futuristic vision.

Earlier, Sitharaman has held discussions with various stakeholders, including economists and captains of Indian industry, on the forthcoming Budget.

Several experts have urged the government to provide tax relief to the common man to boost consumption and come out with steps to check inflation and accelerate economic growth.

The economy has recorded a growth rate of 8.2 per cent in 2023-24 Earlier in February, Sitharaman came out with an interim budget for 2024-25 in view of the Lok Sabha elections.