A Union Cabinet meeting was held in Parliament on Wednesday chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the Budget 2023 presentation by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman,

Sitharaman will start her Budget speech at 11 AM, the last full Budget of the Modi government in its second term. Like the previous two Union Budgets, Union Budget 2023-24 will also be delivered in paperless form.

Sitharaman along with ministers of state Pankaj Chaudhary and Bhagwat Karad and Finance Secretary TV Somanathan called on President Droupadi Murmu.

As per established tradition, the Finance Minister met the President at the Rashtrapati Bhawan before heading to Parliament to present the Union Budget. This is the fifth budget presentation by Sitharaman.

This year's Budget holds much significance as the country is scheduled to have the next Lok Sabha election in April-May 2024.

The budget session of the Parliament began on Tuesday with the President's address, followed by tabling of the Economic Survey for 2022-23.

The formal exercise to prepare the annual Budget for the next financial year (2023-24) commenced on October 10.

The Economic Survey said India's GDP is expected to grow in the range of 6 to 6.8 per cent in the coming financial year 2023-24. This is in comparison to the estimated 7 per cent this fiscal and 8.7 per cent in 2021-22.

The Economic Survey said that India's economic recovery from the Covid pandemic is complete and the economy is expected to grow in the range of 6 per cent to 6.8 per cent in the coming financial year 2023-24. This is in comparison to 7 per cent this fiscal and 8.7 per cent in 2021-22.