Budget Day Transformed: Why India Ditched British-Era Traditions for Efficiency

• Union Budget date shifted from February 28 to February 1 in 2017 by Arun Jaitley, ending a British-era tradition.
• The change provides more time for budget implementation before the financial year begins on April 1.
• Budget presentation time moved from 5 PM to 11 AM in 1999 by Yashwant Sinha under Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government.
• This shift allows MPs, experts, and the public a full day for discussion and understanding of the budget provisions.
• The 92-year-old separate Railway Budget was merged with the Union Budget in 2017 for a simplified financial overview.

Why It Matters: India modernized its budget process by changing presentation date, time, and merging Railway Budget for efficiency.