Get ready for early Budget: The next may be presented in January 2018

Govt mulls gradual switchover to the January-December financial year

The Union government is taking preparatory steps to switch over to a new financial year cycle that will start from January and end in December. At present, the government’s financial year starts in April and ends in March.
 
According to top government sources, the switch-over will be a gradual process. To begin with, the next Union Budget presentation date is likely to be advanced by about a month, to prepare the ground for a change in the financial year.
 
“A change in the financial year would be best signalled by an advancement of the presentation of the Union