Budget 2024 LIVE: President Murmu to address both houses as budget session set to begin

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is slated to present the budget for the financial year 2024-25 on February 1. This will be the final annual financial statement of the BJP-led PM Narendra Modi government's second term. Last week, the traditional pre-budget ‘halwa’ ceremony was held, initiating a ‘lock-in’ period for officials involved in budget preparation to maintain confidentiality until the document's tabling in the Lok Sabha.

On Tuesday, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha lifted the suspension of 14 Opposition MPs, among the 132 penalized during the Winter session of Parliament last month. This decision enables them to participate in President Droupadi Murmu’s inaugural address to both Houses in the new Parliament building and the ensuing Budget session starting Wednesday.

This year's budget is ‘interim’ in nature as the government is set to face a general election in April-May this year. The full budget will be presented in July by the incoming government. In India, the financial year starts on April 1 and ends on March 31 of the following year.

Details on Budget Session this year

Budget 2024 LIVE: The upcoming Budget Session of Parliament will begin with President Droupadi Murmu addressing a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at 11 am on Wednesday. This session, which is anticipated to be the final one before the Lok Sabha polls in April-May this year, will consist of eight sittings over a 10-day period.

On Thursday (February 1), finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the interim budget during this session.