[5] Notably, Nirmala Sitharaman read out a Kashmiri poem[a] during the budget speech in the Parliament, a Tamil couplet written by Thiruvalluvar and a verse from the Sanskrit work Raghuvamsam as well as a French phrase.

[6][7][8] Some of the aims announced were "improving digital governance, physical quality of life, disaster resilience and social security reach".

The Union Budget is the annual financial report of India; an estimate of income and expenditure of the government on a periodical basis.

[12] The Union budget in 2020 was presented in a backdrop of a slowing down of the Indian economy with estimated GDP growth for 2019–20 being at an 11-year low of 5%.

[1] Factors such as the IL&FS (shadow banker, NBFC) crisis contributed to the slowdown;[13] as well as international financial markets issues such as the China–United States trade war.

[14] In January 2020 Western Asset Management Company has reduced its government bond holdings following the atmosphere in the country due to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and the situation in Kashmir which are affecting the economic spirit.

[16] Rakesh Jhunjhunwala said that he "is not looking forward to any big-bang announcement in the forthcoming Union Budget, but expects the government to do some actual work".

[17] In January 2020 Nobel Laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo said: "The critical problem in the Indian economy is demand.

"[18] The Prime Minister of India invited people to share their ideas and suggestions related to the Union Budget on MyGov.in.

[25][26] Funding for a campaign to eliminate tuberculosis by 2025 called TB Harega, Desh Jeetega was announced in the budget speech.

[6] The government plans to raise funds by selling a partial stake in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) through an initial public offering (IPO).

[29] Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman slashed the personal income tax rate for individuals for fiscal year 2020–21.

[40] Also, with reference to the budget allocation for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Chidambaram also said that money can't replace freedom.

[49][46] Economic Times reports some reasons for this including lack of sops for the automobile or real estate, confusion over new income tax slabs, high divestment targets [₹2,100 billion (equivalent to ₹2.5 trillion or US$29 billion in 2023)] and abolition of dividend distribution tax.

[46] As the house curtailed its sittings in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lok Sabha passed the Financial Bill 2020 on 23 March 2020, without any discussion.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said it was an "extraordinary situation" and that a decision to pass the Bill without any discussion was taken at the all-party meeting.