The Union Budget is likely to be delayed by a few days, government sources have said. The Union budget and Railway budget are likely to be tabled in the first week of March, they said. That’s only after assembly elections in five states – Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur – are over.
Earlier it was reported that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will present the Union Budget on February 29, a day after the final phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh.
It was expected that the final phase of UP elections would have an impact on the Union budget and that it might be deferred to a later date.
The elections in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases on February 4, 8, 11, 15, 19, 23 and 28 while the polling will be done in Punjab and Uttarakhand on January 30.
Manipur will be the first to vote on January 28 whereas the elections in Goa will be held on March 3.