<p>New Delhi: The Budget is likely to be passed by Union Budget minister Nirmala Sitharaman on a Sunday, as February 1 falls on the weekend. Union Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said that while a final decision on the matter is pending, it is unlikely that the government will defer the date. </p><p>As per Parliamentary tradition, the Budget has always been announced on February 1 since 2017. Prior to that the Budget used to be announced on January 31. </p>.PM suffering from acute 'acronym-itis'; Winter Session an insult to Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi: Congress.<p>Rijiju indicated that the government is unlikely to drop the tradition. “A decision will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs at an appropriate time,” he said. </p><p>While the Parliament has been convened on several Saturdays in the past, there are also a few precedents of a previous Budget being passed on a Sunday. In 1999, then finance minister Yashwant Sinha passed the Budget on February 28 which was a Sunday. The Parliament has also convened on May 12, 2013 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Parliament sittings. </p><p>In the years 2001, 2004, 2015 and 2016, Parliament has convened on Saturdays. </p><p>In 2016, when Muslim League member E Ahmed passed away on Budget Day, there was the possibility of the Budget being deferred. “We checked with the office of Arun Jaitley who was then finance minister if the Budget will indeed be passed. He said that he was about to leave his residence to announce the Budget,” a Parliament official said. </p><p>In 2017, then finmin Arun Jaitley had introduced a reform in the Budget presentation process. The Railway Budget was dropped and the date was changed to February 1. The move was also announced so that the new Budget would be implemented from April 1 which marks the start of the fiscal year. </p>
<p>New Delhi: The Budget is likely to be passed by Union Budget minister Nirmala Sitharaman on a Sunday, as February 1 falls on the weekend. Union Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said that while a final decision on the matter is pending, it is unlikely that the government will defer the date. </p><p>As per Parliamentary tradition, the Budget has always been announced on February 1 since 2017. Prior to that the Budget used to be announced on January 31. </p>.PM suffering from acute 'acronym-itis'; Winter Session an insult to Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi: Congress.<p>Rijiju indicated that the government is unlikely to drop the tradition. “A decision will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs at an appropriate time,” he said. </p><p>While the Parliament has been convened on several Saturdays in the past, there are also a few precedents of a previous Budget being passed on a Sunday. In 1999, then finance minister Yashwant Sinha passed the Budget on February 28 which was a Sunday. The Parliament has also convened on May 12, 2013 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Parliament sittings. </p><p>In the years 2001, 2004, 2015 and 2016, Parliament has convened on Saturdays. </p><p>In 2016, when Muslim League member E Ahmed passed away on Budget Day, there was the possibility of the Budget being deferred. “We checked with the office of Arun Jaitley who was then finance minister if the Budget will indeed be passed. He said that he was about to leave his residence to announce the Budget,” a Parliament official said. </p><p>In 2017, then finmin Arun Jaitley had introduced a reform in the Budget presentation process. The Railway Budget was dropped and the date was changed to February 1. The move was also announced so that the new Budget would be implemented from April 1 which marks the start of the fiscal year. </p>