CHENNAI: From comptometers (manual calculators) to digital calculators to hi-tech digital apparatus, inputting for the state funds, a crucial file that helps a central authority plan its finances, has come a long and tedious method.
The run-up to the big day comes to a large group of 200 officials and body of workers of the finance division, at least three sittings with the finance standing committee, headed via the manager minister, operating round-the-clock closer to the big day and in the end, when the clearance comes from the manager minister, finance minister and finance secretary the day prior to the funds presentation, a ‘confidential crew’ within the govt press rolls out the laborious copies to be disbursed to contributors of the legislative assembly.
"Sometimes, it gets as late as 2am hours before budget presentation when we go to the residences of the chief minister and finance minister and hand over the copies fresh from the press," stated a source within the finance division. The preparation begins in October of the previous year when the call is made for estimates from departments and the collation of data goes on for five months prior to the funds presentation, generally in March. It begins with collating reams of data, called ‘quantity remark’, together with the salaries of lakhs of presidency staff, expenditure incurred via quite a lot of departments and investment for brand new schemes.
Confidentiality and secrecy had been uppermost, particularly after the taxation proposals had been cleared two days prior to Budget day. But, with GST, the new tax regime, the ‘secret’ components are simply the stamp accountability and registration and Motor Vehicle Tax.
In the 1990s and 2000s, much prior to the advent of computers in govt departments, the preparation of the state funds was once an hard affair, primitive even. It was once manual collation of statistics, which concerned laborious work and sweat, stated a senior officer, who served as finance secretary within the 1990s.
"The last two days, after the tax proposals are cleared, the finance department staff work round-the-clock, spending day and night in the office," recalled retired IAS officer P V Rajaraman, who served under former DMK chief M Karunanidhi and for one meantime funds in 1996 under former AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa. "Mr Karunanudhi, who was also the finance minister, was pretty hands-on. He would read every single line and take hours before clearing his budget speech," stated Rajaraman.
State finance division secretary (expenditure) M A Siddique is credited with bringing in radical changes within the process, together with the digitization, in 2004. With hi-tech devices, funds preparation could also be child’s play, however getting a grip on the numbers and reigning within the state’s finances remain an hard job as ever.
The run-up to the big day comes to a large group of 200 officials and body of workers of the finance division, at least three sittings with the finance standing committee, headed via the manager minister, operating round-the-clock closer to the big day and in the end, when the clearance comes from the manager minister, finance minister and finance secretary the day prior to the funds presentation, a ‘confidential crew’ within the govt press rolls out the laborious copies to be disbursed to contributors of the legislative assembly.
"Sometimes, it gets as late as 2am hours before budget presentation when we go to the residences of the chief minister and finance minister and hand over the copies fresh from the press," stated a source within the finance division. The preparation begins in October of the previous year when the call is made for estimates from departments and the collation of data goes on for five months prior to the funds presentation, generally in March. It begins with collating reams of data, called ‘quantity remark’, together with the salaries of lakhs of presidency staff, expenditure incurred via quite a lot of departments and investment for brand new schemes.
Confidentiality and secrecy had been uppermost, particularly after the taxation proposals had been cleared two days prior to Budget day. But, with GST, the new tax regime, the ‘secret’ components are simply the stamp accountability and registration and Motor Vehicle Tax.
In the 1990s and 2000s, much prior to the advent of computers in govt departments, the preparation of the state funds was once an hard affair, primitive even. It was once manual collation of statistics, which concerned laborious work and sweat, stated a senior officer, who served as finance secretary within the 1990s.
"The last two days, after the tax proposals are cleared, the finance department staff work round-the-clock, spending day and night in the office," recalled retired IAS officer P V Rajaraman, who served under former DMK chief M Karunanidhi and for one meantime funds in 1996 under former AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa. "Mr Karunanudhi, who was also the finance minister, was pretty hands-on. He would read every single line and take hours before clearing his budget speech," stated Rajaraman.
State finance division secretary (expenditure) M A Siddique is credited with bringing in radical changes within the process, together with the digitization, in 2004. With hi-tech devices, funds preparation could also be child’s play, however getting a grip on the numbers and reigning within the state’s finances remain an hard job as ever.
‘People’s budget’ prepared behind closed doors
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Reviewed by Kailash
on
February 09, 2019
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