The Budget session of Parliament will begin on January 29 with the address of President Ram Nath Kovind to the joint sitting of both the Houses and the Union Budget will be presented on February 1. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget at 11 am on February 1. A communication from the Lok Sabha Secretariat said on Thursday that the session would conclude on April 8. In order to enable the standing committees to consider the Demands for Grants of ministries and prepare their reports, the Houses will adjourn on February 15 and meet again on March 8. A similar communication was issued by the Rajya Sabha secretariat regarding the dates of the session.
The 5th session of the 17th Lok Sabha will have 35 sittings, 11 in the first part from January 29 to February 15 and 24 in the second part from March 8 to April 8.
Like the previous session, both the Houses would sit in shifts with Rajya Sabha meeting in the forenoon and Lok Sabha in the evening between 4 pm and 9 pm as part of health measures adopted due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Question Hour would take place in the Budget session. In the previous session, the Question Hour was not taken up due to paucity of time as both Houses met for four hours each.
This time, the Lok Sabha at least, would sit for five hours instead of four every day. Private Members' business which usually takes place on Friday afternoons has also made a comeback in the Budget session, according to Lok Sabha secretariat. In the previous session, the Private Members' business was not taken up.
Members introduce their own bills and resolutions during this period which are debated by the House. Parliament will adjourn on February 15 to enable various Standing Committees to consider the Demands for Grants of Ministries/Departments and prepare their reports, and reconvene on March 8.