Union Budget presentation to be advanced by one month: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, confirmed that the presentation of the Union Budget would be advanced by about one month. 

The move, he said, would ensure speedier implementation of the projects and schemes, according to a statement from the government. 

According to the statement, Modi has also urged all the states to align their plans with the advancement of the budget date, to take maximum advantage of the move. 

Modi confirmed the development while chairing his sixteenth interaction through PRAGATI, the ICT-based, multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation. 

It is now expected that the Union Budget will be presented on February 1, according to a report in the LiveMint. 

"Though the date of presentation of the budget has not been finalised yet, finance secretary Ashok Lavasa, earlier this month, said the finance ministry was preparing the budget with an eye on February 1 as the likely day for its presentation," the report said.  

Last month, the government had decided to merge the Union and the Railway Budget, thereby putting at an end to a longstanding practice of having two separate budget presentations every year. At the time, the government had also given its in-principle nod for the advancement of the presentation dates. 

In the light of the development, it is expected that the dates of the parliamentary budget session which goes underway ahead of the financial statement presentation, will also be advanced.