Union budget on July 6

UPA is trying to deliver the budget within 45 days of government formation
Hardnews Bureau

The Union budget will be presented on July 6 by finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee. The budget session begins on July 2 with the presentation of the annual economic survey. Railway minister, Mamata Banerjee, will present the railway budget on July 3. The month-long budget session will conclude on August 7.

The schedule for the Union budget session for the fiscal year 2009-2010 was decided at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday before he left for a three-day visit to Russia.

This is the PM's first foreign tour after he assumed office for a second term. He will attend the BRIC (Brazil-Russia-India-China) and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summits.

At Yekaterinburg in Russia, during his visit, the PM is expected to meet Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari. After 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, this will be the first high-level contact between India and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, on the home front, demands for grants from various ministries would be discussed in the budget session following presentations of the Union and the railway budget. The government intends to pass the budget before July 31 to avoid a vote-on-account.

Hardnews learnt that the UPA is sticking to its promise of delivering the budget within 45 days of government formation.