What is the GOVERNMENT BUDGET- and What are it's Components in India for UPSC

There is a constitutional requirement in India (Article 112) to present before the Parliament a statement of estimated receipts and expenditures of the government in respect of every financial year which runs from 1 April to 31 March.

This ‘Annual Financial Statement’ constitutes the main budget document of the government. Although the budget document relates to the receipts and expenditures of the government for a particular financial year, its impact of it will be there in subsequent years.

There is a need therefore to have two accounts- those that relate to the current financial year only are included in the revenue account (also called revenue budget) and those that concern the assets and liabilities of the government in the capital account (also called a capital budget).

In order to understand the accounts, it is important to first understand the objectives of the government budget.