The government’s busy schedule due to the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pushed the date for presenting the annual policies and programmes to the House by a week.

The Parliament Secretariat had started preparations for tabling the paper for the upcoming budget on Tuesday in consultation with the government. However, the secretariat was informed that it will be postponed till May 21, according to a senior official at the secretariat. The President presents the government’s policies and programmes, setting the basis for the new fiscal budget.

The document presents an outline of the upcoming budget. Members of Parliament discuss it for a few days before the House of Representatives endorses it after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli answers lawmakers’ queries. The concerns of the MPs raised during the discussion, in principle, are incorporated in the budget.

Currently pre-budget discussion is going on in the House. There were no meetings of both the Houses on Friday owing to Modi’s visit. The secretariat official said Parliament will endorse its regulation once pre-budget deliberation is over.

The House will table the budget for the fiscal year 2018-19 on May 29 as required by the constitution. MPs discuss the budget for a week with the finance minister answering their queries.