President Ramnath Kovind on Wednesday appointed Railway Minister Piyush Goyal as the interim finance and corporate affairs minister in view of the indisposition of Arun Jaitley, who is currently undergoing treatment abroad.

According to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique, the President, as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, directed that during the period of Jaitley's indisposition, the portfolios of the minister of finance and the minister of corporate affairs, held by him, be temporarily assigned to Goyal, in addition to his existing portfolios.

Further, Arun Jaitley will be designated as minister without portfolio during the period of his indisposition or till such time he is able to resume his work as minister of finance and corporate affairs, the statement said.

Jaitley would not be presenting the interim budget next week, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Last week, in an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18 from the US, Jaitley hinted that the interim budget could be bigger than a vote on account.

"The larger interest of the economy always dictates what goes into the interim budget, including addressing some of the challenges and the government could break convention and make the February 1 exercise more significant than a vote on account," he said.

Earlier, media reports said that Jaitley might not be able to present the interim budget of Narendra Modi government this year after he left for the US for a regular medical check-up following a kidney transplant last year.

Jaitley was admitted to AIIMS last year in early April following which he underwent dialysis. He had a renal transplant surgery on May 14, 2018.

In his absence, Goyal was given the additional charge of finance ministry on May 14.

Jaitley who had stopped attending office at the beginning of April, and was back in North Block - the seat of finance ministry - on August 23, 2018.

Jaitley had in September 2014, undergone a bariatric surgery to treat weight gain that he suffered because of a long-standing diabetic condition.

That surgery was first performed at Max Hospital, but Jaitley was later shifted to AIIMS because of complications. He had a heart surgery several years ago.

With inputs from PTI.

First Published:Jan 23, 2019 9:04 PM IST