Finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman will present her maiden Union Budget today even as economic growth remains the top concern. Rising fiscal deficit and slowdown in consumer demand are two other key issues that make her task tougher.

Here are the key things one needs to keep in mind:

Apart from the big announcements to watch out for in the Budget, it would be interesting to see if the government goes ahead and moderates the tax revenue it had set out in the FY19 Budget.

If one looks at the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) numbers of March-ending, both, on direct as well as on the indirect taxes, the government missed the revenue numbers by over Rs 1.21 lakh crore. There was a major compression in the expansion numbers too. Over Rs 1.46 lakh crore was the compression in the overall total expenditure, revenue expenditure had been majorly slashed to remain on course for fiscal deficit. Would the government opt for course correction and make the revenue numbers more realistic?

The chief economic adviser (CEA) said the government would like to stick to the path of fiscal consolidation but there can be deviations. Does that mean the fiscal deficit would be pegged at 3.5 percent for FY20?

An additional Rs 10,000 crore is required for MGNREGA.

Cash capital required for the merger of insurance companies.

There is a big recapitalisation plan for public sector banks (PSBs).

Possibility of more allocation for water conservation under Jal Shakti Ministry.

All of these put together, does the government have any space for tax relief? Let's wait and watch.