Budget 2023: Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman meets President Murmu

Nirmala Sitharaman the finance minister arrived at the ministry office on Wednesday morning as she gears up to present her fifth Union Budget in the Parliament todayIt is the last full budget of the incumbent government before the 2024 Lok Sabha electionsAlso readPandemic Recovery of Indias economy is complete CEA NageswaranLike every year the Finance Minister first visited the North Block situated at Raisina Hill ahead of the Budget presentation Following this she met President Droupadi Murmu and will present the Union Budget 2023 at 11 AM in ParliamentIn the previous Budget the FM made no changes to the income tax slabs The salaried class is currently anticipating the income tax rebate because the present income slab and the tax rates under the regular tax system have not changed since FY 2017ndash18Sitharaman will present the Union Budget with a digital device instead of the traditional bahikhata in her handsIn 2019 the Union Budget was presented in a traditional bahikhata rather than a leather briefcase It was the first time since independence that any Finance Minister had opted out of a briefcase or a hardbound leather bagA bahikhata holds prominence in Indian culture tradition and history For decades the Indian way of managing accounts and keeping a record of bills was done in a bahikhata Traders merchants sailors and even small shopkeepers have retained this way of preserving their dataHowever in 2021 due to the Covid19 pandemic the government had to take necessary steps to maintain the security and safety of everyone The Finance Minister moved ahead with the first paperless Budget holding a digital tablet wrapped in a redcoloured cover with the national emblem emblazoned on itThe same year the minister also launched the Union Budget Mobile App for hasslefree access of Budget documents by the parliamentarians and the general public Following the same trend the next year the Union Budget 2022 was also a paperless budgetOn Wednesday the Budget documents will be available on the Union Budget Mobile App on both the Android and Apple OS platforms after the completion of the Budget Speech by the Finance MinisterThe Budget Session of the Parliament began on Tuesday with President Droupadi Murmus address to the joint session where she spoke about different topics during her maiden address after being elected to the topmost office of the country last yearAhead of the Budget session of Parliament Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said Indias Budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens amid the unstable global economic situation With inputs from Agencies