Apprehensions against this move

1. One big disadvantage of advancing the Budget was lack of comprehensive revenue and expenditure data. Previously, work on the Budget began in earnest by December. By the time it was finalized in mid-February, data on revenue collections and expenditure trends was available for the first nine months of the financial year, i.e. April-December, based on which, projections for the full year would be made.

2. Advancing the Budget dates is fraught with practical difficulties. Effective Budget planning also depends on the monsoon forecasts for the coming year, making advancing the whole exercise even more difficult.

Despite the apprehensions, all the above discussed budget reforms are a welcome move, but these reforms have to go further, as has been suggested by C. Rangarajan Committee in 2011.