Along with the Budget, the Finance Minister also places other documents before the Parliament which include ‘The Macro Economic Framework Statement’. The aforesaid document is presented because this is mandated by

The correct answer is D. The Macro Economic Framework Statement is a statutory document. Section 3 of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003 requires the Central Government to place it before Parliament along with the Annual Financial Statement (the Budget). It sets out the government's macroeconomic assumptions and projections for the coming year, such as GDP growth, inflation, and fiscal indicators, and it is part of the transparency framework the Act created.

• A (long-standing convention): Conventions govern things like the Budget being presented in the Lok Sabha, but this document is not required by convention. It is required by a specific statute.
• B (Articles 112 and 110(1)): Article 112 only mandates the Annual Financial Statement. Article 110(1) defines a Money Bill. Neither mandates the Macro Economic Framework Statement.
• C (Article 113): Article 113 deals with the estimates of expenditure and the demands for grants, which are voted by the Lok Sabha. It says nothing about macroeconomic projections.

The core concept is fiscal transparency and the statutory fiscal framework. For Mains GS-III, this links to debates on fiscal consolidation, the deficit targets, and the role of statutory rules versus discretion. The FRBM targets were revised in 2018, but the reporting requirements, including the Macro Economic Framework Statement, continue.

Trap: Candidates often pick Article 112 because the Budget is the Annual Financial Statement under that article. The question asks about a separate document, and the source of its mandate is the statute, not the Constitution.