Central government to begin Budget 2023-24 preparations from October 10

Budget 2023-24 will be the fifth budget of the Modi government. It will be FM Sitharaman's last Budget before the 2024 General Elections

The Centre will begin preparations for the Union Budget 2023-24 from October 10. A notification released by the Ministry of Finance said that the pre-budget meetings will begin on October 10. 

"Pre-budget meetings chaired by the secretary (Expenditure) shall commence on October 10, 2022," stated the Budget Circular (2023-24) of the Budget Division of the Department of Economic Affairs dated September 6, 2022. "Financial advisers should ensure that the necessary details required in appendices I to VII are properly entered. Hard copies of the data along with specified formats should be submitted," the notification read.

Financial advisors have also been asked to ensure that all the details are available, a report in Mint said. The finance secretaries of all the UTs have also been asked to provide a break-up of the schemes to the Home Ministry. 

"All the ministries/departments should submit details of autonomous bodies/ implementing agencies, for which a dedicated corpus fund has been created. The reasons for their continuance and requirement of grant-in-aid support, and why the same should not be wound up, should be explained," the report said. 

The Budget, since 2017, is presented on February 1. It was presented on the first day of February for the first time by then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. 

The Budget 2023-24 will most likely be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This will be the fifth budget of the Modi government. Also, it will be Sitharaman's last Budget before the 2024 general elections.