Union Budget 2023: Cabinet meeting chaired by PM Modi begins

Union Cabinet meeting chaired by PM Modi begins at the Parliament. After the Cabinet approves the Budget 2023, it will be presented in Parliament by FM Sitharaman. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will today (1 February, 2023) present the last full-fledged Union Budget of the Modi government before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The plan is expected to boost funds for infrastructure, defense and logistics, providing windfalls for related companies. The Budget Session of Parliament began on Tuesday and the first part will conclude on 13 February. The Parliament will re-convene on 12 March for the second part of the Budget Session that will conclude on 6 April. Stock Indices opened higher today ahead of the Union budget, as investors looked for major triggers for the near-term trajectory of the market. NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore exchange were up 0.59% at 17,857.50 as of 07:42 a.m. IST. This is the last full-year budget before the national elections in 2024 and key state elections later this year. Infrastructure spending, measures to aid long-term growth, the government's fiscal consolidation path and the borrowing calendar for fiscal 2024 are seen as key triggers for the market.India has pegged its economic growth at 6-6.8% in the 2023/24 fiscal year, the slowest in three years, at its pre-budget economic survey on Tuesday.