The budget session of Parliament is likely to be held from January 31 to February 13, 2019 and an interim budget is expected to be presented by finance minister Arun Jaitley on February 1, news agency PTI reported quoting government sources.

The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) deliberated on the dates for the budget session at a meeting. It is expected to be the last session of the current Lok Sabha as general elections are due in April-May.

President Ram Nath Kovind is likely to address the joint sitting of the two houses (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) on January 31 and the Economic Survey may also be tabled on the same day.

The budget session which usually happens in two phases is likely to be held in a single phase due to the polls.

An interim budget is quite similar to a full-year budget as it also provides an outlook of a financial statement for a particular year.

This budget is crucial for the government 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.

As per practice, an interim budget needs approval for essential government spending for a limited period in an election year and a full-fledged budget presented by the new government. While P Chidambaram had presented the previous UPA government's interim budget in February 2014, Jaitley had presented a full budget in July that year. #casansaar (Source - PTI, Times of India)