Nirmala Sitharaman to present Union Budget today

This will be Sitharaman's fifth budget presentation since the BJP-led government came to power in 2019 for the second consecutive term.

Sitharaman is expected to deliver her budget speech at 11am.

The Economic Survey 2022-23 tabled by the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Tuesday has projected FY 2024 growth at 6-6.8%.

According to CEO-Investment Advisory, Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd Lakshmi Iyer the projection seems a tad stretched given the fact that there is a global slowdown, specifically in global exports.

"It also comes at a time when domestic demand is slowing down initially and we need to be fiscally prudent, especially after almost 3 years of the fiscal breach (globally too) due to the pandemic phase," she said.

"The survey also alludes to the fact that the tightening cycle may remain prolonged, which means higher interest rates for a longer period of time," he opined, adding "all eyes are now on the budget which could determine the trajectory of growth as also the direction of interest rates given the borrowing programme that will be announced tomorrow."

"Key to watch will be the gross borrowing numbers, which we estimate should be Rs 16 lakh crore,” she said.