New Delhi. The results of the general elections will be announced after a week (on June 4) and with that the preparations for the General Budget 2024-25 to be presented in July 2024 will begin. In such a situation, on Monday (May 27), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that in the last ten years of PM Modi's tenure, a huge change has been made in the way the general budget is presented in the country, making it transparent, reliable and effective.

He also said that his government has ensured through the budget that there is equal distribution of resources and has also ensured that every rupee received from the taxpayer is used properly. He has talked about continuing the phase of reforms to make India a developed nation.

Nirmala Sitharaman has been the Finance Minister during the second term of the Modi government and has been continuously presenting the general budget since the year 2019. Many people believe that if the BJP wins the current general elections, Sitharaman may continue to be the Finance Minister. In a detailed article on the social media site X on Monday, Sitharaman has said that the government will continue to make maximum use of the hard-earned money received from income tax payers and will ensure that it is used for the welfare of all.

'Major changes made in the budget'

The Finance Minister has said that under the leadership of PM Modi, we have changed the budget in such a way that it is not just a record of expenditure but a strategic blueprint for equitable development. In this sequence, from the year 2017-18, the tradition of presenting the budget at the end of January or on the first day of February has been started.

Describing it as a major change, the Finance Minister said that this actually provides two months of additional time for spending. Now all the legislative processes related to the budget are completed before the financial year begins. This has helped in creating co-ordination between the states and the Centre regarding expenditure. It has become easier for the states to take decisions on matters like funding, raising funds for projects or borrowing before the financial year begins.

Sharp attack on oil bonds 

There is now more transparency in the budgetary process and the figures presented in it and institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund also like it. This has increased India's credibility at the global level. In this sequence, Sitharaman has put the previous Congress governments in the dock as to how the issuance of oil bonds or borrowings was hidden during their tenure so that the fiscal deficit could be shown to be less.

She specifically mentioned oil bonds and said, "It was a burden on the future generation. During the UPA government, the budget figures were always changed." Regarding the new method of spending government money through a single account, Sitharaman said that so far a saving of Rs 15,000 crore has been made. Under this system, every state also has to identify a Single Nodal Agency (SNA) to spend the money received from centrally funded projects.