As the Assembly polls in five states will be completed on March 6, the government announced Tuesday that the Budget Session of Parliament will be convened on March 12, and the 2012-13 Union Budget presented on March 16.
The Budget Session usually begins in the third week of February, but due to the ongoing state elections, the Cabinet Committee on Parliame-ntary Affairs headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee decided to convene the session on March 12 with the President’s address to a joint sitting.
The Railway Budget will be presented on February 14 and the Economic Survey, outlining the government’s assessment of the economy, will be tabled on March 15.
The Budget Session is usually divided into two parts, with the House going on a three-week recess after the Budget is presented, when the parliamentary standing committees deliberate on the proposals of different ministries. The second part of the session wil begin on April 24 and continue till May 22.
Mr Pranab Mukherjee, reacting to the GDP growth estimate being lowered to 6.9 per cent for 2011-12, called it “disappointing”.