Five ways in which 2017 Budget will be different from past ones

Moneycontrol BureauIt is a week for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to present the fourth Union Budget of the NDA government's tenure and in form, at the least, it is expected radically different from previous ones.That is in line with the expectations people have of the Narendra Modi government, which was voted in with a mandate that sought sweeping changes to the way the country is run, including policy. Here’s a look at five reasons why this Budget will be different.

Merger of Railway and General Budgets

The landmark decision to merge the Railway and Union Budgets has been hailed by almost all analysts.Railways are no longer the predominant mode of transport in the country to warrant a separate showpiece event for its Budget display, and the move helps it by doing away the need to pay dividend to the government or make populist announcements (such as introducing unviable train routes).Presenting an early Budget The date for announcing the Union Budget has been preponed to February 1. This marks a big shift away from the time-honoured system of presenting it at the end of February. The argument is it would make available more time to execute financial decisions for the oncoming year although states will have to hurry through the process of gathering and assimilating various data.End of plan and non-plan eraIn September last year, the government decided to eliminate classification of expenses in the Budget as plan and non-plan; expenses will now be only presented as belonging to the revenue and capital expenditure budget. The plan and non-plan distinction is a Soviet-era relic underlining the era of central planning, and when plan expenditures were controlled by the now-scrapped Planning Commission, states used to complain about not having control on their expenses.

Shift in fiscal deficit assessment

The Finance Minister is expected to announce a new framework suggesting a fiscal deficit range from 2018-19 setting the stage for replacing the FRBM Act with a new law. As opposed to outlining a point target (for FY17, the target stands at 3.5 percent), a range will give the government more flexibility to alter borrowing and spending depending on a need basis, like in times of a sustained slowdown.Sticking to the new Budget timeline despite state electionsThe government has stood firm on its decision to advance the Budget date, despite stiff opposition that it will violate the model code of conduct considering five states will be going to polls soon after. The FM has argued the whole object of preponing the Budget is that the actual expenditure must start from April rather than half the year being lost and starting after the monsoons.