Prime Minister Narenadra Modi on Wednesday said the Union Budget will be presented a month before its stipulated date. He said the move was to ensure speedier implementation of government schemes. Modi asked state governments to “align their plans” according to the revised dates so that they could take maximum advantage of the move.

Modi made the remarks during his monthly meeting with senior officials through Pragati (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) platform. A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said, “The prime minister mentioned that the Union Budget presentation is being advanced by about a month to ensure speedier implementation of projects and schemes.”

In September, the Cabinet decided to advance the presentation of the Budget by a month, and announced that the Rail Budget will be merged with the annual Budget. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said that the actual date of presenting the Budget will be decided after taking into consideration the Assembly election dates. So far, the Union Budget has been presented in Parliament on the last day of February.