Union Budget on July 8

NEW DELHI: The general budget for 2004-05 will be presented by union finance minister P Chidambaram on Thursday July 8.
The Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today decided that the Budget session of Parliament will begin on July 5 and would conclude on September 3, 2004.
The Railway Budget will be presented on July 6 and the Economic Survey would be tabled on the next day.
The two Houses of Parliament will go into a recess from July 24 to August 15 to enable the departmentally related standing committees to consider the demand for grants of the central ministries and prepare their reports.
The budget session will have a total of 30 sittings spread over 61 days.
The full Budget for ’04-05 was delayed due to the NDA government’s decision to opt for early Lok Sabha election. Usually, the Budget is presented on February 28. The UPA government’s Budget is eagerly awaited since it is expected to contain new initiatives for farmers, manufacturing industries and social sectors. The apprehensions of the corporate sector are also expected to be allayed, making the UPA government’s pro-reform strategies clear.
The Union Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also discussed a number of other issues including price revision for petro products. The previous government had obtained Parliament approval for expenses till the end of May through a vote-on-account before the Lok Sabha elections.
Both Houses of the Parliament may go into recess from July 24 to August 15 to enable department-related standing committees to consider the demands various ministries and prepare reports. This will be the second session of the 14th Lok Sabha and 202nd session of the Rajya Sabha. Both Houses will conclude their session on September 3 with 30 sittings spread over 61 days.