The Union Cabinet will take a call on advancing the Union Budget date in its meeting on Wednesday and consider the merger of the general and the rail budgets.
The tentative new date for the presentation of the Budget will also be discussed, although the final decision on it will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs. Advancing the Budget presentation date will in turn require the Budget Session to be called a few weeks earlier for which Parliament is generally convened around the third week of February.The Union Budget is presented each year on the last working day of February by the Finance Minister to Parliament.
The proposal was moved by the Finance Ministry after it received from several States and some ministries demands that the annual budget exercise be completed before the new fiscal year begins on April 1 for streamlined allocation of funds. The Budget is presented in two parts i.e. the Railway Budget pertaining to Railway Finance and General Budget which gives an overall picture of the financial position of the Centre.
Railway Ministry officials said that even after the merger, Indian Railways may continue to pay dividends to the Ministry of Finance and also bear the social obligation cost it now incurs. It may also continue paying pension to retired employees.Social service obligation costs in 2015-16 added up to Rs.34,030 crore from its coach services, including passenger traffic, luggage and parcel services, while pension outgo for 2016-17 is budgeted at Rs.45,500 crore.
