Mygov.in, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s online governance initiative operational since July 26 this year, has invited suggestions from the public for the Union Budget for 2017-18. The last date for submission is December 15.
On November 15, a day before the monsoon session of Parliament started, the Centre announced that the Union Budget would be presented on February 1, in a break with the colonial practice of budget presentation on the last working day of February.
An announcement on mygov.in said on Sunday: “To encourage JAN BHAGIDARI [people’s participation] and to make budget formation transparent, the Union Ministry of Finance has decided to invite suggestions for the Union Budget for 2017-18. As you may recall, this has been a regular feature on MyGov for the last two years.” “You can submit your suggestions either directly in the comments box or through a PDF document,” it said.
Last year, the website received over 40,000 suggestions for the Union and Railway Budgets, it said.
A statement from the PMO in October said: “The Prime Minister mentioned that the Union Budget presentation is being advanced by a month to ensure speedier implementation of projects and schemes. He urged all the States to align their plans with this advancement, so that they could take the maximum advantage of this move.”
On September 21, the Union Cabinet decided in principle to bring forward the budget presentation by a month so that the legislative approval for the annual spending plans and tax proposals could be completed before the new financial year begins on April 1.
