18 January 2004	Sunday	25 Ziqa'ad 1424

NEW DELHI, Jan 17: The Indian government announced on Saturday that an interim budget would be presented to parliament on Feb 3 in the clearest indication yet that the countdown to early elections has started.

An interim budget for railways would also be presented to parliament on Jan 30, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told a news conference.

Normally, an interim budget is passed only to take care of government expenditures until polls are held. It does not contain the long-term economic policies announced during budget sessions every February.

Swaraj said that the parliamentary session would begin with a meeting of the lower house on January 29 and another of the upper house the next day.

She clarified that both the interim general budget and the railway budget would be presented, discussed and approved by both the houses separately.

Swaraj said that Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee met President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to inform him about the parliamentary schedule that the government wanted to follow.

The government did not announce any date for its own dissolution, but officials have indicated that the general elections are likely to start from April rather than the earlier scheduled date of October.

Vajpayee has said he will call early elections, with BJP leaders keen to cash in on a "feel good factor" stemming from economic growth of over eight percent, peace moves with Pakistan and wins in state polls.-AFP