Keeping the practice started last year intact, Finance Minsiter will likely announce the budget for the year 2018 on February 1. The minsiter's 5th budget and the government's last before the poll for the 2019 kicks in will now paint a lighter picture in respect of the Part B which summaries the Indirect Tax regime now replaced by the biggest tax reform as GST.

The shift from the earlier practice which saw announcement of budget for a fiscal year on February 28 or the last working day of February was to give in more time to the government for the allocated money.

In yet another overhaul, last year the annual budget and railway budget was merged with no distinction left for planned and non-planned expenditure.

With Inputs From PTI