India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked top officials in the ministry to ensure that they should keep close tabs on the implementation of budget announcements to ensure that they are implemented in a time-bound manner.
The minister received the directives while meeting with secretaries from the corporate affairs and finance ministries. Many of the budget announcements are based on executive decisions, even though some of them call for legislative amendments. A day prior to the FM meeting, PM Narendra Modi had a meeting with the council of ministers.
Since the budget presentation was moved up to February 1, expenditures and other decisions can now be made starting in April, when the new fiscal year starts. This allows the ministries time to plan the implementation and start issuing tenders, which are now awarded early, helping to enhance capital investment, which has been a main emphasis of the government. Anyhow, the tax-related amendments go into effect in either April or July.