Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's ninth consecutive Budget presentation, scheduled for February 1, will serve as a roadmap for government revenue, expenditure, welfare initiatives, and sector-specific reforms. The Union Budget will also highlight the government's priorities in fiscal management and economic growth.
The Union Budget, one of the most important financial statements in the country, is the blueprint of the government's revenue and expenditure, policies, measures, and welfare schemes.
Along with the full budget documents, there is a handy summary called “Budget At A Glance,” which makes it easier to understand the budget.
What Is Budget At A Glance?
It is a summarised snapshot of the government's financial plan that makes it easier for anyone to understand. Instead of going through long, complicated numbers, this document shows the key points clearly.
Instead of reading long tables, the document uses graphs, charts, and infographics where you can get an idea of where money comes from, where it is going, and how much the deficit is.
It is usually 5 to 30 pages long, short and easy to read, and is released as a PDF after the Budget is announced in Parliament.
What It includes:
Receipts And Expenditure
The “Budget At A Glance” document shows how the government earns and spends money. Receipts are all the money coming in, mainly from taxes, fees, fines, and other sources, while expenditure is all the money the government spends to run the country, including health services, education, defence, infrastructure, and welfare programs.
Deficits
Sometimes, the government spends more than it earns, and these deficits are either fiscal or revenue. Fiscal deficit is the overall gap between government income and total spending, while revenue deficit shows the gap between regular income, including taxes, and regular expenses such as salaries and subsidies.
The “Budget At A Glance” document includes effective revenue deficit (ERD), a part of the revenue deficit that is actually spent on development or capital projects like building roads, schools, or hospitals. Another deficit is the primary deficit (PD), which shows the fiscal deficit excluding interest payments on government loans.
This section summarises sector-wise allocations, which show how much money each sector or department will get. It also explains how the government manages its debt, including loans, bonds, and other sources of finance. It gives an idea of how the government plans to keep its finances under control.
