Budget 2023: What is Guillotine, how does it help the Centre?

By Team Newsable  |  First Published Feb 1, 2023, 9:45 AM IST

Like all Parliamentary sessions, the Budget session is one of the significant sessions of the Parliament and has very little chance for scrutiny. This is due to the limited time for the parliament session each day. This is when Guillotine comes into action.


A day after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey 2022 in the Parliament, the Budget 2023 will be presented in the Parliament today (February 1). It is reportedly said that this year's budget would likely bring many changes to policies and tax reforms.

Meanwhile, there are several terminologies used during the announcement of the Budget that are not easily understood by those sitting at home and listening to the finance minister's speech. One such term, which is uncommon yet crucial, is called "Guillotine".

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Like all Parliamentary sessions, the Budget session is one of the significant sessions of the Parliament and has very little chance for scrutiny. This is due to the limited time for the parliament session each day. This is when Guillotine comes into action.

What is Guillotine?

During the budget session, the central government reveals the amount of expenditure expected in the upcoming financial year, so that funds can be allotted to them for the future. After a discussion, voting is conducted during the Union Budget session.

Also read: Budget 2023: Step-by-step guide to download mobile app of Union Budget

The centre, if there is no time for discussion, imposes the Guillotine method under which all the proposals and funds are passed without any voting or debate. This is an occurrence that is slammed by many political leaders but is a part of the procedure.

After imposing guillotine during the Budget session, the Centre will formally introduce the Appropriation Bill. This is to authorise the government to draw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India. After this, the Finance Bill is taken into consideration.

Following a break, both Houses of the Parliament vote on these legislation and approve the funding after the guillotine is introduced in the Parliament during the Budget session.

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