To maintain the Budget’s confidentiality, North Block will be secured as tightly as Fort Knox. (Image: Finance Ministry X)
Budget 2024: To maintain the Budget’s confidentiality, North Block will be secured as tightly as Fort Knox.
As the Modi 3.0 government gets down to preparing its full and final budget for FY 24-25, North Block, which houses the finance ministry in New Delhi, will be in ‘quarantine’ from Thursday until the presentation of the budget in July.
The ministry will be out of bounds for visitors and media as it gets down to preparing the budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
Also Read: Budget 2024: FinMin Begins Process, When Will It Be Announced? Check Details
Before the country went to polls, an interim budget authorising government expenditure for a limited period was presented on February 1.
With a government in place now, a full-year budget will be presented by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Budget 2024 Quarantine
To maintain the budget’s confidentiality, North Block will be secured as tightly as Fort Knox. Electronic sweeping devices are being installed, and private email access on most ministry computers is being blocked.
As per a report by news agency PTI, during the ‘quarantine’ period, all the entry and exit points of the ministry are guarded by security personnel while the Intelligence Bureau (IB) personnel, assisted by Delhi police, keep a close watch on the movements of those entering the rooms of the officials involved in the budget-making process.
Budget 2024 Date
The full and final budget for FY ’25 is likely to be presented to the newly formed 18th Lok Sabha next month.
The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will begin on June 24 during which new members of the Lower House will take oath and the Speaker will be elected.
President Droupadi Murmu will address a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on June 27 and is likely to outline the new government’s roadmap for the next five years. The session will conclude on July 3.
The first three days of the first session will see the newly elected leaders taking oath and electing the Speaker of the House.
Both Houses of Parliament are expected to reconvene in the third week of July for the presentation of the union budget.
