Iran's Majlis, or parliament, on Saturday started its debate on the budget bill for the fiscal year from March 21, 2007 to March 20, 2008, the state television reported on its website.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad presented the proposed budget of 2,290 trillion rials (248 billion U.S. dollars) to the Majlis on Jan. 21, 2007.

The proposed budget, the second submitted to the Majlis by the president, shows a 19.6 percent increase over the budget for the current fiscal year, the report said.

Speaking before the Majlis in an open session on Jan. 21, Ahmadinejad outlined priorities of the draft budget bill and strategies the government is to adopt to meet such a budget.

The Majlis has a period of 10 days to study the proposed budget and forward its proposals to pertinent specialized commissions.

The expert commission are to submit their reports to the budget commission 10 days after considering various views and proposals.

After receiving the reports of the expert commission, the budget commission is to review them and give its final report to the Majlis within 15 days from receipt of the reports.

According to the Constitution, the president proposes the budget and the Majlis either adopts it in its entirety or proposes necessary amendments.

Source: Xinhua