<p>In 2017, the Railway Budget was merged with the Union Budget, ending a practice that began in 1924 under the British. </p>.<p>A Niti Aayog commission submitted a white paper recommendation to do away with the practice. The recommendation was submitted to then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. </p>.<p>He wrote a letter to the then-Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to merge the Railway and Union Budgets for the welfare of the Railways and the Indian economy.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/union-budget/budget-flashback-trivia-facts-and-more-1074799.html" target="_blank">Budget Flashback: Trivia, facts and more</a></strong></p>.<p>Arun Jaitely brought this up in 2016 at the Rajya Sabha and a special committee was constituted to plan the merger of both the Budgets.</p>.<p>As per the Niti Aayog recommendations, over the years the Railway Budget had shrunk significantly, and therefore a separate Budget was not required. The recommendations also stated that the British started this practice in 1924 because a significant part of the government revenues and the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was dependent on Railway revenues.</p>.<p>India was the only country with a separate Railway Budget. In 2017, Arun Jaitley presented the first combined Union Budget, and the practice has been followed since.</p>.<p>This year, the Union Budget will be presented on Feb 1, 2022 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos:</strong></p>
<p>In 2017, the Railway Budget was merged with the Union Budget, ending a practice that began in 1924 under the British. </p>.<p>A Niti Aayog commission submitted a white paper recommendation to do away with the practice. The recommendation was submitted to then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. </p>.<p>He wrote a letter to the then-Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to merge the Railway and Union Budgets for the welfare of the Railways and the Indian economy.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/union-budget/budget-flashback-trivia-facts-and-more-1074799.html" target="_blank">Budget Flashback: Trivia, facts and more</a></strong></p>.<p>Arun Jaitely brought this up in 2016 at the Rajya Sabha and a special committee was constituted to plan the merger of both the Budgets.</p>.<p>As per the Niti Aayog recommendations, over the years the Railway Budget had shrunk significantly, and therefore a separate Budget was not required. The recommendations also stated that the British started this practice in 1924 because a significant part of the government revenues and the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was dependent on Railway revenues.</p>.<p>India was the only country with a separate Railway Budget. In 2017, Arun Jaitley presented the first combined Union Budget, and the practice has been followed since.</p>.<p>This year, the Union Budget will be presented on Feb 1, 2022 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos:</strong></p>