Bills and budget in India form an important aspect of financial policy of the country. Money bills and budget are nothing but the official expressions of the financial policy of the ruling government. Money bills are the finance bills of the government and Lok Sabha enjoys ultimate power in sanctioning and amending money bills. Budget is also a form of money bill. Money bills handle the taxation and other financial issues like loans and government expenses. And, general budget allocates funds for each and every function of the government. The financial resources is very limited and so, proper utilization of that limited fund is required for securing the financial stability of the government and it is not possible to attain that stability without the bills and budget in India.
The general budget in India is also known as the Union Budget of India and this is the annual budget of the Republic of India. It is interesting to note that this general budget is presented by the Finance Minister of India in Parliament on the last working day of February each year.
Thus, there is no fixed date for the announcement of the budget in India. It has been mentioned earlier that the budget is itself a money bill and so, it needs to be passed by the House of the Parliament before 1st April. April marks the beginning of the financial year in India and each financial year should follow the clauses of the new budget. Thus, bills and budget in India announce the changes in the fiscal policy of the government.
The important bills and Annual Financial Statement or budget is laid before the members of both the houses of Indian Parliament, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. This statement is valid for the coming one year of financial year once it gets passed by the members of Lok Sabha and gets the approval of the President of India. The budget constitutes the assumed revenues and expenditure of the government of India along with the estimated receipts. The bills and budget in India are required to get the votes of the members of Lok Sabha in the form of Demands for Grants. A separate Demand is presented for each and every service. The Demand contains a statement of the total grant and a detailed estimate of the divisions according to the items.
The Railway Budget is presented separately by the Rail Minister of India which deals with the receipts and expenditure of the Railways and this forms a core part of the Consolidated Fund of India. The figures and statement are also included in the financial budget later on. Thus, passing of bills and budget in India is all about managing limited financial resources to carry out several functions necessary to make India a welfare state.
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