Union Cabinet approves Budget 2022-23

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Budget 2022-23 which will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament.

The meeting began at around 10:20 am ahead of the Budget presentation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Railways, Communications and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, and others were present at the Parliament for the Union Cabinet Meeting ahead of the presenting of the Budget.

The Union Budget 2021 will be presented in a short while from now.

The Budget speech will begin at around 11 am today with Sitharaman beginning it with an address to the speaker of Lok Sabha. Usually, the duration of the presentation ranges from 90 to 120 minutes.

Earlier today, Sitharaman met President Ram Nath Kovind ahead of the Budget presentation. She was accompanied by Ministers of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Bhagwat Karad and other officials from the Ministry.

Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, replacing her signature 'bahi khata', she opted to carry the documents in a tablet, which was wrapped in a red-coloured cover with the national emblem emblazoned on it.

On Monday, she tabled this year's Economic Survey, centred around the theme of "Agile approach", which forecasted India's economy to grow by 9.2 per cent during Financial Year 2021-22 and by 8-8.5 per cent in fiscal 2023 beginning 1 April.