Budget 2024: Prez Murmu offers customary 'dahi-cheeni' to Sitharaman. Pics

Union Budget 2024: FM Sitharaman and her team met with President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi before heading for the Parliament to present the Budget

Union Budget 2024: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday called upon President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi before heading for the Parliament for the Union Budget 2024-25 presentation.

Visuals emerged from the president’s residence, showing Sitharaman and her team posing with Murmu while displaying the ‘Bahi Khata’, which is wrapped in red cloth and carrying India’s digital Budget.

In one of the photos, President Murmu is seen offering Sitharaman the customary ‘dahi-cheeni’ (curd and sugar) ahead of her Budget presentation. In Indian tradition, starting an important event with dahi-cheeni (curd and sugar) is considered auspicious.

 

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman along with Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan before presenting the Union Budget. The… pic.twitter.com/y386kgOyUG

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) July 23, 2024

Soon after, Sitharaman headed to the Parliament, where she will commence her Budget speech at 11 am.

Before the actual Budget presentation in Parliament, the Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will approve the Budget for the financial year 2024-25.

Stay tuned with Business Standard for live coverage of Budget 2024.

This will be Sitharaman’s seventh consecutive Budget, a notable milestone in itself as it marks the longest Budget streak maintained by a finance minister in history.

Earlier today, Sitharaman and her dedicated team of policymakers stepped out of the finance ministry office at New Delhi’s North Block with the ‘Bahi Khata’.

A day before the Budget, Sitharaman unveiled the Economic Survey 2023-24 in the Parliament, highlighting India’s economic performance in the last financial year. According to the survey, India is likely to achieve a 6.5-7 per cent growth rate in the current financial year (FY25).

Prior to that, PM Modi addressed the nation, marking the beginning of the monsoon session of Parliament, which will tentatively conclude on August 12.

In his address, Modi urged the Opposition parties to join hands with the Centre for the progress of the nation and hailed the Budget as the stepping stone to make India a developed country by the year 2047, when it achieves 100 years of independence.

Following the general Budget, Sitharaman will also present the annual Budget of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.