Just in: Former external affairs minister E Ahamed faints during the President's speech in Parliament. He was rushed to hospital.  Ahamed served in the Manmohan Singh government and represents the Malappuram Lok Sabha constituency of Kerala. He is 79. The President spoke for over an hour.


President Pranab Mukherjee addressed Parliament in a joint session of both houses as is customary ahead of the budget session which begins today. Despite opposition of parties, the government advanced the budget presentation to February 1, which it said would ensure important policy changes are implemented by April 1 when the new fiscal year begins. The economic survey will be tabled today by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who will present the Union Budget tomorrow. In a first, the Rail Budget has also been merged with the union budget.


Image: A TV grab of the former union minister E Ahamed being taken to hospital.