Finance ministry begins consultation with industry bodies in run-up to 2019-20 Budget

New Delhi: The Finance Ministry has begun the pre-budget consultation exercise with industry bodies in the run-up to the full budget for the current financial year to be unveiled by the new government sometime in July. Finance ministry officials met the representatives of industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Wednesday and would hold similar consultation meetings with other key chambers, including CII, next week. Following the tradition, the government had on 1 February unveiled interim Budget for 2019-20 in view of the Lok Sabha elections. The final Budget for the fiscal is likely to be tabled in July after formation of the new government. The ministry has already met the representatives of other ministries and government departments as part of the Budget-making exercise. [caption id=“attachment_5305381” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] According to sources, SIAM made a presentation to the government and has suggested measures to boost the auto sector which has been witnessing demand slowdown, especially in the passenger vehicle segment, for over 10 months now. Industry chambers are also likely to suggest fiscal and non-fiscal measures to boost growth which slipped to five-quarter low of 6.6 percent in October-December 2018. The Central Statistics Office (CSO), which releases the national account data, too had in February revised downwards the growth estimate for 2018-19 fiscal to 7 percent from 7.2 percent. The 7 percent growth is the lowest in 5 years. In 2013-14, the growth was 6.4 percent, in 2014-15, it was 7.4 percent, 8.2 percent in 2015-16 and 2016-17 and 7.2 percent in 2017-18. After the last general elections in 2014, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had presented the full budget for 2014-15 fiscal on 10 July, 2014. Follow full coverage of Union Budget 2019-20 here