TOMORROW IS BUDGET 2006
Tomorrow is the much awaited budget.
The secrecy: The Finance Minister Chidambaram himself believes that budget as a concept and the associated secrecy will not last long but as of now it is a very secret exercise. Why should it be so? After all the Income tax proposals are to be effective only from the next financial year! Is it because the customs and excise increase or imposition is immediately effective? Now a days there is hardly any increase or imposition But still the secrecy remains – may be more of a tradition than need. Try to peep into North Block – you really can’t. High-tech tapping devices, an army of security personnel, sophisticated surveillance gadgetry, digital deterrents, electronic sweeping devices and jammers, huge scanners – well the budget is under the tightest possible security.
No phones, no mails, no SMS and every communication with the outside world is blocked for the officers preparing the budget. The IB is in total control. Nothing can come out of North Block without the IB’s knowledge. Heading the whole operation is Dr. Adarsh Kishore, the Finance Secretary who is in constant touch with the Financer Minister and the Prime Minister. There used to be a tradition that the Finance Secretary’s wife should not go shopping during budget time for the price of anything she bought was sure to go up. The Finance Secretary and his staff hardly have any sleep for over a fortnight to bring out that budget.
But obviously the heavy task of the budget is light for the FM Chidambaram. He is all over the place exuberating confidence. The FM’s Private Secretary is S. Krishnan, son in law of former Finance Secretary, K P Geethakrishnan. With Adarsh and Krishnan in control, obviously Chidambaram can relax.
The dramatis personae in the Budget 2006.
1) Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister in total command as far as economics is concerned and the original finance minister.
2) P. Chidambaram – of course
3) Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia – was the Finance Secretary when the PM was FM and knows his budget
4) Dr C Rangarajan – Like the PM was a former Governor of Reserve Bank of India and knows India’s Finance better than any one else.
5 ) Dr Adarsh Kishore, Finance Secretary – the man behind the budget
6) K M Chandrasekhar, Revenue Secretary – he has to be there; budget is all about revenue.
7) Parthasarathy Shome, Advisor to Finance Minister – He is a regular adviser to the FM and can there be a budget without him?
8) M. Jayaraman, Chairman, CBEC
9) Mrs M H Kherawala, Chairman CBDT
10) S Krishnan, Private Secretary to Finance Minister
And of course a host of other officers committed to the Budget mission. And every one doing the budget is under constant IB surveillance that they don’t dare to talk to even their spouses.
The budget papers are printed in the cellar of the North Block and now with the computer revolution, CDs of the budget are made available. Incidentally even the DG, Systems which runs the web site of the CBEC has no access to the CD before any one else. But NIC gets it a little before the actual reading of the budget. It is really unfortunate that the departmental web site does not get the budget in advance and they will have to get it like any body else.
The Budget consists of the following and in that order.
Key to Budget
Budget Highlights
Budget Speech
Budget at a Glance
Annual Financial Statement Finance Bill
Memorandum
Receipt Budget
Expenditure Budget
Customs & Central Excise
Implementation of Budget Announcements
The Macro Economic Framework Statement
The Medium Term Fiscal Policy Statement
The Fiscal Policy
Strategy Statement
The Statement under Section 7 of the FRBM Act