The Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi began here on Wednesday.

The meeting comes ahead of the Union Budget 2023-24 which will be tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament.

Before the cabinet meeting Finance Nirmala Sitharaman met President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

"Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, MoS Dr Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, MoS Shri Pankaj Chaudhary and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan before presenting the Union Budget 2023-24," the President tweeted.

'Government must allocate a dedicated fund to encourage women to participate in sport'

India's Union Budget for 2023-24 must lay emphasis on strengthening country's sports infrastructure in non-metro cities, improving girl's participation in sport and investing in young sportspersons at the grassroots level, said sports scholar & team owner of Gurgaon InCredibles at LastManStands, Aman Dhall in his pre-budget expectation from the government.

According to him, the government must allocate big funds and invest in sport development in tier-3 and 4 cities, where robust infrastructure can help the country to groom talent for it to become a global sporting powerhouse.

"Last year, Khelo India, the government's flagship programme, emerged as the biggest beneficiary with a budgetary allocation of Rs 974 crore. The upcoming budget must focus on schemes like the Fit India Programme to foster a sporting culture in India and encourage people to make fitness their active lifestyle," said the former alumni advisory board member of sporting institution Loughborough University (UK).

He further added that the government must allocate a dedicated fund to encourage women to participate in sport.

"We have such amazing sports stories of our women excelling in world events. In the last three Olympics, nearly half of our medals (7 out of 15) have been won by women. If we can place an extra emphasis, and allocate dedicated funds to further their participation, we will not only strengthen our sporting future but will also make our society more equal and balanced." (KB/IANS)