Union Budget 2022-23: Date of Presentation and other details

Union Budget is one of the most important events in the country as it affects every single individual in India. According to Article 112 of the Indian Constitution, the Union Budget of a year, also referred to as the annual financial statement, is a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the government for that particular year.

Article 112 says that the President shall in respect of every financial year cause to be laid before both the Houses of Parliament a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government of India for that year, in this Part referred to as the annual financial statement.

The Union Budget keeps the account of the government's finances for the upcoming fiscal year that runs from 1st April to 31st March. Here are some important details that one should know about the budget:

Date of Presentation of the Union Budget 2022-23

The Union Budget will be presented Union Budget in the Parliament on February 1, 2022, at 11 am. This session of the Parliament is also known as the Budget Session.

Who will present the Union Budget 2022-23?

The Union Budget is presented annually by the Union Minister of Finance. Currently, Nirmala Sitharaman is the Union Minister of Finance. She is a member of the Rajya Sabha in Parliament.

How long is a Budget session?

Generally, the presentation of the Union Budget runs for 90 minutes to 120 minutes, though the time may vary on occasions like the shortest Budget speech was delivered in 1977 by Hirubhai M Patel. It was an interim Budget. Union Budget 2021-22 presentation was the longest in India's history which lasted for 2:40 hours. The previous record of the longest Union Budget speech was held by Jaswant Singh. His budget speech lasted for 2:15 hours in 2003.

Union Budget is classified into Revenue Budget and Capital Budget.

Revenue Budget: The revenue budget comprises the government's revenue receipts and revenue expenditure. Revenue receipts are classified into two parts – tax revenue (income tax, excise duty, corporate tax, etc.) and non-tax revenue (interest, profit, fees, fines, etc.). Revenue expenditure is the expenditure incurred on day to day functioning of the government and on various services offered to citizens. If revenue expenditure exceeds revenue receipts, the government incurs a revenue deficit.

Capital Budget: Capital budget, whose components are of a long-term nature, includes capital receipts and payments of the government. Loans from the public, foreign governments and RBI form a major part of the government's capital receipts. Capital expenditure is the expenditure on development and maintenance of machinery, equipment, building, health facilities, education etc. Fiscal deficit is incurred when the government's total expenditure exceeds its total revenue.