Budget of a government refers to a comprehensive statement of its expenditures and receipts for a particular financial year. It is an expression of the intentions of the government as regards its expenditures over an ensuing year and its receipts to meet such expenditures. In India, the Union Budget is presented in Parliament (usually on the last working day of February every year) through a set of documents. In order to understand the key concepts associated with budget in our country, we may refer to one of the important Union Budget documents, viz. the Budget at a Glance. For this purpose, Union Budget 2012-13 is being taken as a model in this article.

Union Budget: Understanding the Concepts