The Finance Ministry on Friday asked Twitter users to tweet what they think should be the focus of the Union Budget 2017-2018, which is scheduled to be presented earlier than usual on February 1. While voting will remain open for a week, a significant number of Twitter users are opting for agriculture.

“Please give your suggestions... Which sector (Infrastructure/Manufacturing/Agriculture/IT and Services) needs more focus in Budget 2017-18?” the ministry said on Twitter. In November 2016, the ministry had invited suggestions from the public on myGov portal for Budget 2017-2018 in order to encourage mass participation and bring in greater transparency.

On December 27, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the Budget session was being advanced so that the “expenditure to various sectors is authorised by the time the new financial year begins”. The government has also decided to merge the otherwise separate Rail Budget with the Union Budget for the first time.