ENA Economy 2025-01-07 15:09:53 <p><span style="font-size:14px"><strong>New Delhi, Jan 7 (KNN)</strong> Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has completed an extensive month-long series of pre-budget consultations with various stakeholders, marking a significant step in the preparation of India's Union Budget 2025-26.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The consultation process, which began on December 6, 2024, brought together more than 100 participants from nine distinct stakeholder groups, encompassing representatives from agriculture, labour, education, healthcare, and various economic sectors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">During these comprehensive discussions, stakeholders from farmer associations, trade unions, MSME sectors, financial markets, and infrastructure development presented their recommendations for the upcoming budget.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The Finance Minister expressed appreciation for the valuable input received and assured participants that their suggestions would be thoroughly evaluated during the budget preparation process.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">In a move to foster greater public participation, the Finance Ministry has announced that starting January 10, 2025, citizens can contribute their suggestions for the Union Budget through the MyGov platform.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">This initiative, embodying the principle of 'Jan Bhagidari' (public participation), aims to make the budget-making process more inclusive and representative of public interests in pursuit of the government's vision of 'Viksit Bharat' (developed India).</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The consultations were attended by key government officials, including Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth, and Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran, among others.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The upcoming budget, scheduled to be presented in Parliament on February 1, will mark Sitharaman's eighth consecutive budget and the second full budget of Prime Minister Modi's third term, setting policy directions toward achieving the nation's development goals by 2047.</span></p> <p><em><strong><span style="font-size:14px">(KNN Bureau)</span></strong></em></p> 40543 https://knnindia.co.in/news/newsdetails/economy/finance-ministry-concludes-pre-budget-consultations-opens-public-platform-for-suggestions 2025-01-07 15:09:53 knnindia.co.in