The Hindu Business Line : Outdated format

The manner of presenting the Budget, modelled on the British tradition, has remained unchanged for the entire period after Independence. Till about six years ago, it was unthinkable that the Budget could be presented at any time other than 5 p.m. on the last day of February. It took 50 years for Indian political and governing classes to muster sufficient courage to change the timing to 11 a.m. as it is now.

Further, there was, and still is, a fetish attached to the contents of the Budget. It was supposed to be kept top secret, and even a whiff of a suspicion that any bit of it was divulged before it was actually presented led to the rolling of heads. Governments thus mindlessly became prisoners of outmoded practices. Fortunately, deregulation and liberalisation, and the lightning speed at which information is available has led to the "demystification" of the Budget. Finance Ministers hold consultations with a wide cross-section of opinion during the run-up to the Budget and give hints of what is in the offing.

While listening to Budget speeches, one cannot help wondering whether it is at all necessary to take so much valuable time of legislatures by reading out a long list of all the welfare schemes and the allocations.

Far from making any impact, it causes mental fatigue and ceases to make any impression. There can be no objection to the list being circulated separately without being made part of the speech.

Also, the Budget should be made a short and crisp document, taking not more than 30 minutes to read, containing a brief description of the policy framework within which it has been prepared.It will then facilitate participation by a much larger number of people than at present based on a clear understanding of the implications of the contents.

B. S. Raghavan