New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday concluded month-long consultations with various stakeholders, including representatives of the industry and social sectors, as part of the budget preparation exercise.

The consultations started on December 6, 2024, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

"In the course of the in-person consultations, more than 100 invitees across 9 stakeholder groups, including experts and representatives from farmer associations & agriculture economists; trade unions; education & health sector; MSME; trade & services; industry; economists; financial sector & capital markets; as well as, infrastructure, energy and urban sector, participated in the meetings," it said.

In the course of the consultations, 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 2025-26, it said.

Additionally, from January 10, 2025, citizens may share their valuable suggestions and ideas for the Union Budget 2025-26 on the MyGov platform, it said, adding, citizens are encouraged to actively participate in this annual initiative, aimed at making the Budget-making process more inclusive with the spirit of 'Jan Bhagidari'.

The Ministry of Finance and MyGov eagerly look forward to receiving innovative and constructive suggestions from citizens across the country.

To submit the suggestions, citizens can visit the MyGov platform (www.mygov.in) and contribute towards building a Viksit Bharat, it said.

Union Minister for State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary; Finance Secretary and Secretary DIPAM, Tuhin Kanta Pandey; Economic Affairs Secretary, Ajay Seth; Financial Services Secretary, M Nagaraju; Secretaries of Ministries concerned, Chief Economic Adviser, V Anantha Nageswaran, and senior officers from the Ministry of Finance and Ministries concerned were also present during relevant meetings.

Union Budget 2025-26 is likely to be tabled in Parliament on February 1.

This would be the eighth straight Budget of Sitharaman and second full budget of the Modi 3.0 government, which will give policy direction for achieving the goal of Viksit Bharat (developed India) by 2047. PTI DP DRR

Public consultation invites citizen suggestions for the Union Budget via MyGov to inform final budget proposals. Public consultations for the Union Budget 2025-26 concluded after month-long stakeholder meetings across nine groups whose suggestions will be examined by senior Finance Ministry officials in preparing budget proposals. Citizens may submit suggestions on the MyGov platform from January 10 for consideration in the Budget; this inclusionary mechanism aims to collect innovative inputs to inform policy choices and fiscal priorities prior to tabling.