Budget 2019: All you need to know before Feb 1

New Delhi, Jan 29: The Union Budget 2019 will be crucial for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as it offers one last opportunity to announce some popular measures ahead of the elections, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will seek a second term.

The government is expected to announce a slew of measures to woo rural voters and urban middle class. The government would like to build on its rural vote base, while retaining its traditional support base in cities.

Here's all you need to know about Budget 2019

Date and time

The interim budget for the financial year 2019-20 is likely to be tabled by Piyush Goyal on February 1 at around 11 am. Both the houses of Parliament- the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, will remain in session till February 13 for the Budget Session, which is scheduled to begin on January 31.

Budget 2019, which will have 10 sittings in all, will be the last parliamentary session of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, before the general elections which are due before May.

Piyush Goyal likely to present budget

Piyush Goyal, appointed interim Finance Minister for second time in the absence of Arun Jaitley, will present the upcoming Budget 2019. This is the second instance in eight months when Goyal will be stepping in for Jaitley in the North Block-located finance ministry.

Jaitley, 66, underwent a successful kidney transplant at New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on May 14, 2018. He had been on leave since early April due to kidney-related problems and chest infection, and took charge of finance and corporate affairs ministries on August 23.

Goyal held temporary charge of the two ministries for 100 days in the interregnum, while Jaitley was a minister without a portfolio between May 14, 2018, and August 23, 2018.

Halwa ceremony

Earlier this week, the finance ministry officials kicked off the printing process of Budget 2019 documents with a "halwa ceremony". The customary ceremony marks the beginning of the process of printing documents for the Budget.

An interim budget

This will not be a full budget. It will only be an Interim budget. An interim Budget is a complete set of accounts which includes both expenditure and receipts of the government.

When it is required

An interim budget is required in two situations. One, if the government does not have time to present a full budget or two, if general elections are near. The union government requires an Interim budget to function in the months it takes for the new government to create its own budget plan.

What the budget includes

Budget is prepared by the budget division in the Ministry of Finance after consulting with other ministries. It is tabled in Parliament by the finance minister.

The Budget comprises of Budget speech, annual financial statement, finance bill, demand for grants and macroeconomic framework.

Last Interim budget

The last interim budget was presented on 17 February 2014 by the then finance minister P Chidambaram.

Until the year 1999, the Union Budget was announced at 5 pm on the last working day of February. Former finance minister Yashwant Sinha changed the budget presentation ritual by announcing the 1999 Union Budget at 11 am.

Interim budget will be followe by new budget

An interim budget is followed by another budget by the new government. The last interim budget was presented on February 17, 2014 by the then finance minister P Chidambaram. It was followed by a full-year budget on July 10, 2014.

Budget before elections

Lok Sabha elections are scheduled in the first half of next year as the incumbent government will complete its five-year tenure in May.

Earlier, the Budget was presented at the end of February. The Narendra Modi-led government scrapped this colonial-era tradition.

Will Modi govt go for a full budget?

While reports claim that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance could break with convention and present a full budget instead of an interim one, the Congress said this was a "violation of conventions" and that it would challenge any such move on "the floor of the house".

Railway Budget

The central government has done away with the practice of presenting a separate budget for Indian Railways. Railway Budget 2019 will be presented by FM Jaitley as a part of the Union Budget on February 1.