In March 2010, then chief minister of combined Andhra Pradesh Konijeti Rosaiah presented the annual budget of the state. Rosaiah himself was holding the finance portfolio, which he had held during the regime of Y S Rajasekhar Reddy before his death in a tragic air crash.
Now, after nearly nine years, Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will be presenting the annual budget in the capacity of finance minister.
During the cabinet expansion on Tuesday, KCR did not allocate finance and revenue portfolios to any minister.
For that matter, he did not allocate many other important portfolios like irrigation, industries, IT and urban development to any of the ministers and has become all-in-one.
Since there is no finance minister, KCR himself will present the vote-on-account budget in the assembly, the budget session of which will commence on February 22.
In fact, in the last couple of months, KCR was doing the job of an all-rounder reviewing all the departments.
He held meetings with finance department officials to discuss the budgetary provisions to various departments.
Even if he had given the finance portfolio to any minister, the latter would have little time in going through the budget papers and present the budget in the House.
In the last five consecutive years, former finance minister Etela Rajender presented the budget. He has now been given the medical and health portfolio.
After the presentation of the budget, discussions will be held on the same on the next day and the appropriation bill will be adopted by the House on February 25.