The Budget speeches of finance ministers are rated on many parameters — their approach to ‘fiscal responsibility’, their ‘tax-payer friendliness’, their ‘farmer friendliness’, their solicitousness towards the poor, their leaning towards industrial growth, their ‘market friendliness’, and so on.

Perhaps it is time to look at another simple (but often ignored) yardstick — listener or viewer friendliness. And for that, there is just one way — keep it short.

If the Budget speech crosses 45 minutes (after budgeting 10 minutes for sloganeering and assorted protests), you’ll know it is a dead duck. Basically, that would mean another speech written by bureaucrats with their endless games — renaming some schemes after BJP grandees, a few new schemes with token allocations of ‘₹5 crore’ or offering more slogans and topping them off with assorted quotations from hoary philosophers. This has been the time-tested formula and the finance minister has faithfully stuck to this on the last two occasions.

Once was excusable, since he had had just about a month to present the first Budget. The second, which came last year, was still condonable on grounds of limited experience. But to do this the third time around? It would remove all lingering doubts. If this government really means business then it had better start by showing that it values everyone’s time.

Ever wondered why the length of each period in schools and colleges usually last for about 45 minutes? Or even why any of the mega serials are given in doses of 30 (usually less) minutes? It’s because that’s about as much as the mind can handle at one sitting. Beyond this, nothing will register in the minds of listeners or viewrs. Finance ministers have hitherto ignored this simple rule in their eagerness to prolong their few minutes of fame.

Let’s hope Jaitley makes a new beginning come February 29. There’s still time to rehearse with a stopwatch.

NS Vageesh Associate Editor

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