The Hindu Business Line : Govt to present `full Budget' in Feb; no vote-on-account

IT'S official now. There will be no early general elections nor is there any plan to present just a `vote-on-account' instead of a full-fledged Budget on February 28.

The Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, told newspersons here today that "there will be a full Budget and not vote-on account", given that "the Prime Minister himself has already said that Lok Sabha elections would be as per schedule (in October 2004).

When asked whether the intended "full-Budget" would nevertheless turn out to be "soft", with a reduced reforms thrust, Mr Singh said that "reforms are a continuous process".

According to him, placing excessive emphasis on the Budget was a throwback to "the idioms of yesterday" and "there is a need to demystify the Budget process". The Finance Minister reiterated his now familiar line: "Management of the country's finances is not any black magic."

Mr Singh also refuted criticism about the Government going overboard in projecting the current economic turnaround through its `India Shining' campaign. "No one can deny that the feel-good-factor that was seemingly missing has now returned. Why should we feel guilty about feeling good? Indeed, one should feel good about feel-good," he quipped.

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