The early tabling of the financial Budget ends a 70-year tradition.
PM's announcement were focused on those most affected by the note ban.
A scrutiny of the PM's statements in the last 12 weeks lays bare a stunning lack of homework for a policy that has affected each of the 1.25 billion people of India.
Sops for middle class, poor and farmers on cards.
The event will be significant for the Congress and Trinamool Congress leaderships, cementing the proximity during the winter session of Parliament.
Not all Opposition parties on board, say they are once bitten, twice shy.
Senior bureaucrats say the government has planned a 'feel-good' Budget after the 'pain' of demonetisation.
Many in the BJP believe that postponing the UP elections even by a month will allow the negative perception against demonetisation to dissipate.
Eco affairs secretary says double counting possible; cash availability to improve in three weeks.
Cash withdrawal limits likely to continue
Opposition parties think they have until New Year's Eve to build nationwide narrative against demonetisation.
The FRBM report, to be submitted on Tuesday, is likely to have 'excuse clauses', absolving the government of meeting its fiscal commitments under certain conditions such as war or conflict, global economic meltdowns or natural disasters.
Reports from Ludhiana, Coimbatore, Moradabad, Tirupur, Indore, Surat, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad, suggest the impact of demonetisation is worsening.
On Thursday, the Business Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha, which allocates time for the Bills and discussions to be taken up for the forthcoming week, met, but the government strategists didn't ask the members to allocate time for the GST Bills for the next week.
Munich-based Giesecke and Devrient supplies security features to the RBI for currency notes, and machines to bank branches across the country to detect counterfeits.
While the government has the option of ensuring the passage of these Bills as money Bills, there are voices within the government advising discretion on the GST roll-out by April 1.
A senior finance ministry source said making the use of debit cards and e-wallets compulsory across the board is legally untenable, but banks have been asked to insist their account holders use these instruments
The total balance in 255 million Jan Dhan accounts now stands at Rs 66,637 crore against Rs 45,637 crore on November 9.
The minders of the Modi government's economic policy believe it would take 7 to 8 quarters -- or till around late 2018 -- for the economy to reap the rewards of demonetisation.
Continued lack of consensus at next meeting could cast shadow on GST rollout by April 1.