The Budget Session of Parliament commenced on January 31st with an address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
In an election year, the ruling government cannot present a complete budget. Instead, the finance ministers present an interim budget that covers the government's expenses and revenues for a short period of time.
This is done until a new government is elected and takes charge. The interim budget is presented on the same schedule as the Union budget would be in a regular financial year.
The interim budget contains estimates for the government's expenditure, revenue, fiscal deficit, financial performance and projections for a few months. No significant policy announcements that may burden the next government can be made in the interim budget.
The Parliament has passed a vote-on-account in the interim budget, which allows the government to obtain approval for essential spending such as salaries and ongoing expenses from the Parliament.
It has become common for outgoing governments ahead of polls to create an interim budget, although there is no constitutional provision for it.
As per Article 112 of the Indian Constitution, the Union Budget for a given year is known as the Annual Financial Statement (AFS). The AFS contains an estimate of the government's receipts and expenditures for a financial year, which runs from April 1 of the current year to March 31st of the following year.
The Budget Division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry is the nodal department responsible for preparing the budget