New Budget in July but no new plans till Sept vote

The Finance Ministry plans to present a regular budget for 2004-05 in the first week of July but would seek a vote-on-account for expenses u...

The Finance Ministry plans to present a regular budget for 2004-05 in the first week of July but would seek a vote-on-account for expenses until September.

‘‘Vote-on-account for an additional two months, beyond July 31, would be necessary,’’ said a ministry document, while asking government departments to send their expense details by June 11. Until the vote-on-account ends, no new schemes would be undertaken.

The reason for the vote-on-account is that Parliament would require at least a month to approve the Budget. The Ministry does not plan to alter allocations projected in the Interim Budget presented by the NDA government, but has asked each department to indicate schemes or decisions which were taken thereafter and entail additonal expense.

Once these schemes have been flagged off, it would be upto the Finance Ministry to approve or turn down the scheme or decision. If approved, these expenses would be incorporated in the statement of the Revised Budget.

India denies entry to top SOAS Hindi scholar — who is Francesca Orsini?

India2 hr ago

Francesca Orsini, a prominent Hindi scholar and professor, was denied entry into India and sent back to London from the New Delhi airport. Orsini is renowned for her groundbreaking work on Hindi literature and has mentored scholars and given lectures on literary history and world literature.

View all shorts

Live Blog

PHOTOS