New Delhi, (Nepal Aaja). Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the first Union Budget of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha today. With this, Sitharaman set a record by presenting the budget for the seventh consecutive time, surpassing Morarji Desai's record of presenting six consecutive budgets.

Before presenting the budget, Finance Minister Sitharaman met with President Droupadi Murmu. As per tradition, the Finance Minister visited the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan before presenting the Union Budget. This budget marks the first of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term. An interim budget was presented on February 1, 2024, due to the Lok Sabha elections. Today's budget aims to outline a roadmap for a developed India by 2047.

Significance of the Indian Budget for Nepal

The Government of India has announced a grant of INR 7 billion to Nepal for the fiscal year 2024-25. On Tuesday, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the annual budget in Parliament, mentioned that the grant to Nepal is INR 500 million more than the previous year. For the current fiscal year, India is estimated to provide Nepal with INR 6.5 billion.

Among neighboring countries, Bhutan is set to receive the highest grant from India, amounting to INR 20.68 billion. Other countries included in the budget are Maldives with INR 4 billion, Myanmar with INR 2.5 billion, Sri Lanka with INR 2.45 billion, Afghanistan with INR 2 billion, Bangladesh with INR 1.2 billion, African nations with INR 2 billion, and Mongolia with INR 50 million.

Priorities of the Indian Budget

In this year's budget, the highest allocation is for the defense sector, with INR 4.547 trillion allocated. Following this, rural development receives INR 2.658 trillion, agriculture INR 1.518 trillion, the Home Ministry INR 1.509 trillion, and education INR 1.256 trillion.

This budget is expected to strengthen economic cooperation and relationships between India and its neighboring countries.