Pre-Budget meetings to commence on Oct 10

The Ministry of Finance is all set to start the exercise to prepare the annual Budget for the next financial year — 2023-24 — from October 10.”Pre-budget meetings chaired by the secretary (Expenditure) shall commence on October 10, 2022,” the Budget Division of the Department of Economic Affairs said.”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 for cross-verification,” it added.It will be the last full budget for Modi 2.0 before the Lok Sabha elections to be held in April-May of 2024.The requirement of funds for all categories of expenditures along with receipts of Ministries/ Departments will be discussed during the pre-budget meetings.”Requirement of funds for all categories of expenditures along with receipts of Ministries/ Departments will be discussed during the pre-budget meetings,” the Budget Division of the finance ministry said.Final ceilings will be decided separately by the Ministry of Finance latest by January 10, 2023, after an assessment of fiscal space, it added. In financial parlance, the maximum permitted level in a financial transaction is called the ceiling.