We get it, having spent less than three decades on this planet, we GenZers have already had a tough time understanding the complexities of the modern world affecting our daily life. When it comes to our national finances, we just can’t seem to make any sense of the words spoken, and the general vibe of complicated terms like
Don’t worry, we have got you covered. As we step into an unforgiving adult world, it's time to tune in, as the Union Budget often has direct implications on your personal finances. To help you start, here’s your very own budget glossary, which will let you decode all budget-related mumbo-jumbo, the
A: Annual Financial Statement
Think of this as a simple breakdown of how much money the government has received and spent over three time periods — the current year, the previous year, and the budget (upcoming) year. This is required under Article 112 of the Indian Constitution. It has three parts:
- The consolidated fund of India, consisting of revenue received by the government as direct and indirect taxes, and loans
- Contingency fund of India for emergencies, or disaster management
- Public Account of India — our money that the government receives under various schemes like PPF, small savings and more
Say you set aside Rs 25,000 this month from your salary, to buy an uber-cool smartwatch. But you find a sweet steal deal on Amazon and manage to grab it for just Rs 20,000. The Rs 25,000 you set aside from your monthly budget was an estimate. In the same way, the government sets aside a specific sum for every project or scheme based on its estimates, but in the end, the actual expenses may vary.
C: Capital Expenditure
See the government allocating funds left, right and centre for building highways, improving rail connectivity, or developing other infrastructures? That's capital expenditure, or capex. The idea of undertaking capex is to build something for the long term, something which keeps contributing to the economy’s growth, long after its creation.
D: Divestments
Divesting means to sell off and let go of one’s stakeholding or ownership in a company or enterprise. The government generally divests its shares in various public undertakings to raise funds. Remember the much-touted IPO of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) LIC’s IPO in May 2022? That was the government divesting 3.5% of its share in the insurance behemoth.
E: Economic Survey
This is a snapshot (and a pretty long one) of all the major economic developments that have taken place in the country during a particular financial year. It is usually released a day before the full budget, highlighting the performance of various government schemes, trends seen in various sectors of the economy, the policy initiatives taken by the government, and where the economy is going in the near future.
F: Fiscal Deficit
As daunting as it sounds, what if I tell you that most of us are perennially in a state of fiscal deficit? Surprised? It's simply when your spending exceeds your earnings. So, it gives you an estimate of how much you need to borrow, to tide over. Turns out, the government isn't faring great either, given that its fiscal deficit, or the difference between its revenue and expenditure currently stands at a staggering Rs 16,85,494 crores, or about 5.1% of India’s
G: GDP
Gross Domestic Product is the collective monetary value of all the goods produced and services rendered in the country, during a particular period. In other words, it is the combined total of the economic output that is generated by 141.72 crore Indians like us, expressed monetarily.
As of 2024, India’s GDP stood at $3.9 trillion. GDP is a measure of how healthy and strong an economy is. Some of the world’s biggest economies, like China and the US, have a GDP of $18.5 trillion and $28.7 trillion, respectively.
G:
When achieving gender equality, and addressing challenges women face by way of allocating resources and formulating policies accordingly becomes key to preparing a budget, it's known as gender-based budgeting. Such a budget ensures that distribution of public resources between men and women is not heavily skewed towards the former. In 2023-24, India’s gender budget swelled 4.3% to Rs 2.23 trillion, which is about 4.9% of the overall budget.
H:
The total money earned by everyone in your home makes for your household income. So, if you are a family of 4, where your younger sister is studying, and you, along with your parents earn a total of say Rs 25,00,000 per annum, that is your household income. As of 2022-23, India’s average household income stood at Rs 3.6 lakh/annum.
O: Outcome of Budget
This is a statement of the outcomes achieved by various government departments with the budget allocated to them last year. It answers questions like was the money spent on purposes it was sanctioned for? What was the output achieved? Think of this as a report card, detailing your progress, or money spent during the year, and is indicative of what more needs to be done to achieve the desired results.
R: Revised estimates
Say are saving up Rs 70,000 for your buying the latest iPhone. But a few months down, you realize that the price point has changed as the release date approaches, and it is likely to cost about Rs 85,000 now. You see, your initial estimate was Rs 70,000, but then, you revised your estimated requirement to Rs 85,000.
The government works no differently. 6-months after the budget presentation, the government assesses if the money granted to scheme A is sufficient, or does it need more funds. Are there any other schemes that need more fund allocation? The new, revised estimates then become the benchmark of functioning, against which actual expenditures are compared.
S: Subsidy
This is a sum that the government gives to an industry or business, with the objective to keep its prices for the general public low. The government pitches in to pay a part of production costs, so that the public does not end up bearing the entire burden of the cost. Remember the recently discontinued FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) subsidy on electric vehicles (EV) schemes, which boosted EV adoption amongst Indians.
Imagine your elder brother or sister funds 40% of your much awaited Goa trip, without wanting anything in return, for the simple purpose of you having fun! That's them subsidizing your travel!
V: Vote on Account
Remember Nirmala Tai presented an interim budget this year in February, given that elections were due in May? In an election year, the incumbent government does not present a full fledged budget, because who knows if they’ll be voted back to power or not? So, to tide over the next few months before a new government is brought back to power, the government seeks vote on account, which is basically permission or grant needed to fund expenditures for the next few months.
Z: Zero-based budgeting
The term refers to a budgeting method in which all expenses must be justified for each new period, starting from a "zero base." Think of it like starting with a blank piece of paper every time you make a plan for how to spend your money. Instead of just changing what you spent last year, you think carefully about every rupee you need and why you need it. In 1986, the Indian government implemented ZBB as a system for determining the Expenditure Budget, making it compulsory for all ministries. However, implementation and application of this approach have remained inconsistent in the later years.
So, it's time to listen to Tai with rapt attention, and flaunt your newfound budget dictionary to those still afraid of endless budget jargons!