Pre-poll budget meetings to weigh food, fertilizer sops

Finance ministry will hold as many as 65 meetings between 10 October and 14 November

- Puja Das , Gireesh Chandra Prasad 

The finance ministry will hold a series of meetings with various ministries and departments starting early October to finalize the revised budget estimates for FY24 and the FY25 budget numbers with a pre-election focus on balancing a possible rise in subsidy requirements with the need to maintain fiscal prudence.

As many as 65 meetings will be held within a span of a month, a person informed about the official schedule of consultations said.

The extensive consultations from 10 October to 14 November will assess the spending pattern so far this year, tax collection growth against the nominal gross domestic product (GDP) growth and any extra spending needed this fiscal year—especially for food and fertilizer subsidies, considering that they have been higher than last year in both absolute terms and as a share of the total budget allocation for the full year.