New Delhi, Dec 20: As part of the pre-Budget consultations, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired a meeting with representatives from States and Union Territories in Jaisalmer on Friday.
The meeting, which was also attended by Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, included the Chief Ministers of Goa, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, and Odisha, as well as the Deputy Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana. Finance Ministers from various States and UTs were also present, along with senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, including the Secretaries of the Departments of Economic Affairs and Expenditure.
Ministers from States and UTs have gathered in Jaisalmer ahead of the GST Council meeting scheduled for Saturday. This is part of the ongoing series of consultations held by the Finance Ministry, which includes meetings with stakeholders such as MSMEs, farmers' associations, and economists. These pre-Budget discussions are a regular annual practice, involving experts, industry leaders, and state officials.
The formal process of preparing the annual Budget for the upcoming financial year is already underway. In keeping with tradition, the Union Budget for 2025-26 will be presented on February 1, 2025. This will mark Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s eighth budget presentation. Attention will be focused on key announcements and the government's economic outlook for the remainder of the Modi 3.0 tenure.
