The Pre-Budget consultations for Union Budget 2024-25 that started from 19^th June 2024 onward in the Ministry of Finance and chaired by Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, concluded on 5^th July 2024.

Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the seventh Pre-Budget Consultation with representatives of trade and services for the upcoming General Budget 2024-25, in New Delhi, on 25th June 2024.

In the course of the in-person consultations, more than 120 invitees across 10 stakeholder groups, including experts and representatives from farmer associations & agriculture economists; trade unions; education & health sector; employment & skilling; MSME; trade & services; industry; economists; financial sector & capital markets; as well as, infrastructure, energy and urban sector, participated in the meetings.

Union Ministers of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary; Finance Secretary and Secretary Expenditure, Dr. T.V. Somanathan; Secretary, D/o Economic Affairs, Shri Ajay Seth; Secretary, DIPAM, Shri Tuhin K. Pandey; Secretary, D/o Financial Services, Shri Vivek Joshi; Secretary, D/o Revenue, Shri Sanjay Malhotra; Secretary, M/o Corporate Affairs, Shri Manoj Govil, Secretaries of Ministries concerned, Chief Economic Adviser, Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran, and senior officers from the Ministry of Finance and Ministries concerned were also present during relevant meetings.

In the course of the consultations, Union Finance Minister Smt. Sitharaman expressed gratitude to the participants for sharing valuable suggestions and assured experts and representatives that their suggestions would be carefully examined and considered while preparing the Union Budget 2024-25.

Pre-budget consultations engage diverse stakeholders, and their policy suggestions will be considered in drafting the Union Budget. Pre-budget consultations were conducted by the Ministry of Finance, chaired by the Union Finance Minister with participation from Ministers of State, departmental secretaries, the Chief Economic Adviser and senior officials; representatives from ten stakeholder groups (agriculture, trade unions, education, health, employment and skilling, MSME, trade and services, industry, economists, financial sector and infrastructure) provided sectoral inputs, and the Ministry assured that these suggestions would be examined and considered in preparing the Union Budget.