C. Union Budget of India
As per Article 112 of the Constitution of India, the Union Budget of a fiscal year refers to the annual financial statement of the Union Government for that particular fiscal year. It contains a detailed account of the estimated receipts and expenditures of the government for a particular fiscal year that runs from 1st April to 31st March.
The data contained in the Union Budget of India can be categorized into the following three categories:
- Budget Estimates of receipts and expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year (also known as the Budget Year)
- Revised Estimates of receipts and expenditures for the current fiscal year.
- Provisional Actuals of receipts and expenditures for the previous fiscal year.
For example, the Union Budget 2023-24 was presented towards the end of the fiscal year 2022-23 in February 2023. Thus, for the Union Budget 2023-24, the 2022-23 became the current fiscal year, 2021-22 became the previous fiscal year and 2023-24 became the upcoming fiscal year. Thus, the Union Budget 2023-24 contained these three categories of data:
- Budget Estimates of receipts and expenditures for the fiscal year 2023-24
- Revised Estimates of receipts and expenditures for the fiscal year 2022-23
- Provisional Actuals of receipts and expenditures for the fiscal year 2021-22