Budget 2021: FM Nirmala Sitharaman holds pre-Budget consultations with top industrialists

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on December 14 held pre-Budget consultations with top industrialists in Delhi ahead of the forthcoming Union Budget 2021-22. In addition to the FM, Finance Secretary Dr AB Pandey, DEA Secretary Tarun Bajaj and CEA Krishnamurthy Subramanian were present in the meeting, the Ministry of Finance said.

Along with Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman , Finance Secretary Dr A.B. Pandey, Secretary, DEA, Shri Tarun Bajaj, CEA Shri @SubramanianKri besides other senior officials are also present in the meeting .

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) December 14, 2020

Sitharaman on December 13 concluded a comprehensive review of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package with the Secretaries of various Ministries/Departments, the Ministry of Finance said.

What we know about the Budget 2021 so far

In an official release, the Finance Ministry said the Ministries and Departments concerned have started implementing the announcements under the three Aatmanirbhar Bharat Packages.

Meanwhile, the Union Budget 2020-21 is likely to make a one-time provision for the procurement, storage, transportation and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, and filling certain gaps in India’s public healthcare system which the pandemic has exposed.

Read: Budget 2021 may allot up to Rs 80,000 crore for Covid-related spend

A top government official told Moneycontrol that the provisioning could be as high as Rs 80,000 crore. This will just be from the Centre, with states and the private sector also budgeting their own expenditure as India prepares for a vaccination drive that could be the largest in the world.