The Budget Session has started, and tomorrow in Parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Interim Budget. This budget is for the interim until a new government is chosen. According to Nirmala Sitharaman, there won’t be any “spectacular announcements” on February 1. However, everything she says from the preparation to the presentation of the Union Budget remains a secret as the budget is “completely confidential”. However, why? The Budget was leaked years ago.
How and when was the Budget made public?
Union Finance Minister Sir RK Shanmukham Chetty presented the first budget (1947–1948) for independent India. Hugh Dalton, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, told a journalist before about the budget that it included some planned tax adjustments. Before the Parliamentary Budget Speech, the information was made public. Following a significant uproar, Hugh Dalton was compelled to resign.
Many years later, in 1950, when printing was scheduled to take place in Rashtrapati Bhawan, a section of the Union Budget was leaked. The printing of the budget was moved from Rashtrapati Bhawan to Minto Road following the leak.
How does one keep the Budget a secret?
The Budget was printed at a press on Minto Road from 1951 until 1980. Next, a government press was established in the North Block’s basement. The finance ministry office is highly secured before the budget announcement, and the media are not allowed to access it until the presentation. The Delhi Police is assisting the Intelligence Bureau in its investigation of those involved in the budget-making process. The joint secretary oversees an intelligence unit that keeps an eye on the movements of the officials involved in the process.
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