Ahmedabad: With the Centre deciding to advance the Budget 2017-18 presentation by about a month, the Gujarat government today announced that it would present the state budget in the second week of February, which is two weeks earlier than usual.

Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who is also the Finance minister, made the announcement here.

“Normally, we present the budget in the last week of February. But, since the Union Budget will now be presented early, we have also decided to advance our budget presentation in the Assembly. It will now be held in the second week of February,” Patel told PTI.

Last year, the budget was presented in Gujarat Assembly on February 23.

Ending the 92-year-old tradition, the Union Cabinet on September 21 decided to merge rail budget with the general budget and agreed in-principle to advance the date of its presentation in Parliament from the usual February end.