New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held a meeting with the Union Council of Ministers. This comes just two days ahead of the Budget session which is scheduled to be released on February 1.
The meeting, the first to be held for the Union Council of Ministers in 2023, started around 10 am and is expected to conclude in the evening.
According to the sources, the working of several ministries and policy initiatives taken by the Narendra Modi government will be reviewed and discussed in the meeting, PTI reported.
This comes amid a buzz of a cabinet reshuffle and also ahead of the assembly polls in nine states this year.
The Union Budget, which will be presented in Parliament on February 1, will be the last full-fledged budget of the Modi government before the 2024 general elections.
Meanwhile, the Parliament will skip Zero and Question Hour during the first two days of the Budget Session that begins on Tuesday at 11 am. President Droupadi Murmu will address both houses in a joint session in the Central Hall on January 31. On the second day of the Session i.e. February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the last Union Budget of the Narendra Modi-led 2.0 government in Lok Sabha. The Budget will be tabled later in Rajya Sabha, news agency ANI reported citing a bulletin.
The bulletin also informed members that issues of 'urgent public importance' raised during Zero Hour will be taken up from February 2.
This part of the Budget Session will continue to function till February 13. The second part of the Budget Session will resume after a recess on March 13 before ending on April 6. This part of the Parliament session will focus on the Demand for Grants for various ministries and the passing of the Union Budget. Other legislative businesses will also be taken up by the government during this period.
Expectations are high from the last full Budget of the Modi government as the rising cost of living and worsening job market have impacted much of the middle class.
(With inputs from PTI)