<b>Periscope</b>: Cabinet secretary to reply on early Budget

According to govt plans, the Budget session of the Parliament will begin from February 1

Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha's reply on the plea of Opposition parties seeking postponement of the Budget presentation date is due on Tuesday. The Election Commission of India (ECI) wrote to Sinha (according to officials, this is accepted practice on all election-related communication the ECI receives and no politics should be seen in this) on the issue and asked him to respond. The ECI is believed to have asked the Centre to explain why it wants to advance the Budget session, to take an informed decision.

According to government plans, the Budget session of the Parliament will begin from February