WATCH: Why are two budgets being presented this year
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present Union Budget 2019 in parliament on 5th July. But, didn't Piyush Goyal present the budget earlier this year in February? Then why is Sitharaman presenting the Budget all over again?
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present Union Budget 2019 in parliament on 5th July. But, didn't Piyush Goyal present the budget earlier this year in February? Then why is Sitharaman presenting the Budget all over again? Usually, the government presents a full budget on 1st Feb ever year. But, this year, things were a little different due to Lok Sabha elections 2019. A government which is in the last year of its tenure usually presents an interim budget or obtains a vote on account.
It is a temporary measure which occurs in the run-up to every general election.
This is done to ensure that the full budget is presented by the incoming government. However, there is not a big difference between an interim budget and a full budget. The outgoing governments refrain from announcing new policies during an interim budget. Even though it is presented for the full year, the new government has the option to give it a complete or partial makeover.
Watch video to understand -
This year, the interim budget was to be presented by the the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. But, since he was unwell, the budget was finally tabled by the acting finance minister Piyush Goyal. As you all now, the major announcement was government's decision to give income tax rebate to people with income up to Rs 5 lakh.
The acting finance minister had, in fact, stated that a proposal was made to made give exemption to people with income up to Rs 5 lakh but since it was an interim budget, the idea was dropped.
As it turned out, the Narendra Modi-led NDA government returned to power with an even bigger majority and Nirmala Sitharaman was appointed as the new Finance Minister. Now, she is set to be the second woman Finance Minister to present India's budget on July 5.
10:47 AM IST