Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday chaired her eighth and final pre-Budget consultations with leading economists, in New Delhi.

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Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman chairs her 8th and final #PreBudget2023 consultation with leading economists, in New Delhi, today. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/8RoKFlmboK

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) November 28, 2022

Along with Sitharaman, the meeting was attended by Union Ministers of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, finance secretary TV Somanathan, secretaries from other departments of the finance ministry, and Chief Economic Advisor Anantha Nageswaran, the ministry said in a tweet.

The 8th and final #PreBudget2023 meeting is being attended by MoS Finance Shri @mppchaudhary and Dr @DrBhagwatKarad; Finance Secretary Dr T.V. Somanathan; Secretaries of DEA, @SecyDIPAM, DoR, @DFS_India, and @MCA21India; and CEA Dr Anantha Nageswaran @FinMinIndia. (2/2)

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) November 28, 2022

The participants gave suggestions on the 2023-24 Budget, which will be presented in Parliament by the Union finance minister on February 1.

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This will be the fifth budget of the Narendra Modi 2.0 government and FM Nirmala Sitharaman, and the last full Budget before the general elections due in April-May 2024.

During the election year, the government presents a Vote on Account for a limited period. Usually, the Budget is cleared till July. The Budget 2023-24 is likely to be presented on February 1, during the first half of Parliament's Budget session which usually begins in the last week of January every year.

The Budget 2023-24 is likely to be presented on February 1 during the first half of the Parliament's Budget session, which usually begins in the last week of January every year.

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The Budget for the current fiscal had projected a growth rate of about 7-7.5 percent in real terms while the fiscal deficit was pegged at 6.4 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

The PM Narendra Modi-led government scrapped a colonial-era tradition of presenting the Budget at the end of February. The then finance minister Arun Jaitley had for the first time presented the annual accounts on February 1, 2017.

With the preponement of the Budget, ministries are now allocated their budgeted funds from the start of the financial year beginning in April. This gives government departments more leeway to spend as well as allow companies time to adapt to business and taxation plans.

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Previously, when the Budget was presented at the end of February, the three-stage Parliament approval process used to get completed sometime in mid-May, weeks ahead of the onset of monsoon rains. This meant government departments would start spending on projects only from August-end or September after the monsoon season ended.