CCPA recommends holding of Budget Session from Jan 31

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs Tuesday recommended holding of the Budget Session from January 31 when the government is likely to table the Economy Survey followed by the Union Budget on February 1. The CCPA headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh met in New Delhi and made these recommendations to President Pranab Mukherjee. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also attended the meeting.

In a first, the government has decided to present the Budget on February 1 instead of the last day of the month as part of an overhaul that would also scrap the practice of a separate railway budget. The first part of the Budget Session will run till February 9. The 92-year-old practice of presenting a separate Rail Budget is going to end from this fiscal, with the Finance Ministry accepting Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu’s proposal to merge it with the General Budget.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has indicated that railway travel may become pricier for passengers come the next financial year. Jaitley is also set to hold pre-budget consultation with states on January 4, after the meeting of the GST Council gets over.