Before the Finance minister of the country presents the budget to Parliament on the last day of February, a lot of hard work goes on behind the locked doors of the Ministry of Finance in North Block. Here’s what you might have missed on the budget preparation process.
The ritual
The race for the final lap began on February 19 with the halwa ceremony. It marks the commencement of the printing process of documents of Union Budget 2015-16. It does not involve any puja or worship. The officials associated with the preparation of the Budget and its printing gather at the printing press situated in the basement of the North Block and exchange wishes in the presence of the FM, and distribute halwa. And then, the printing begins.
Fine Print
One of the most important jobs is the printing of documents. Unlike all government publications that are printed at the government press, the Budget documents are printed in a special printing press situated in the basement of North Block, under a tight security cover. From 1947 (First Budget was tabled in the Parliament on November 26, 1947) to 1950, printing took place at Rashtrapati Bhawan, till the Budget got leaked in 1950. The venue was then shifted to a government press on Minto Road, but since 1980, the North Block basement has become the permanent place for printing. The Budget press is fully air-conditioned, with modern printing machines.
High Security
The highest level of security measures are adopted at North Block in this period. The Intelligence Bureau (IB), Delhi Police and CISF take over the security of this zone. A ban on public entry into the Finance ministry has been imposed from January 5 this year. The security cover begins from Gate No 2 of the North Block – entrance of the Finance Ministry, where a large steel door-frame fitted with special X-ray scanner connected with computers is in place to monitor movement of each and every article.
A powerful mobile phone jammer is installed inside North Block to block calls and prevent leakage of information. There are no phones inside the Printing Press for outward communication.
The intelligence agency also monitors landline telephone numbers installed in the chambers of the bureaucrats through intercepting mechanism. Like in the past, the IB chief may conduct surprise inspection. Besides, armed security personnel, dog squads often make rounds. Special police protection is given to Finance Secretary (FS) and other top officials, who move outside the North Block.
Fortress
To maintain the secrecy of the Budget preparation process, there is a ‘lock-in’ of the officials involved in making the Budget. The Budget Press houses all these officials and they are totally cut-off from the outside world, including their families till the presentation of the Budget in the Parliament. Only in emergency, a family member can relay message through security in-charge to the concerned official housed inside. A team of the IB sleuths and teams of Delhi Police officers monitor each and every movement of officials and stenographers belonging to Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) and other departments.
The computers used during the process are delinked from the National Informatics Centre (NIC) server as a safeguard from cyber-theft. Only, the FM has the right to enter and exit this highly protected zone. Only a few top officials like Finance Secretary, etc are given special pass to enter and exit North Block during this period. This virtually makes North Block a high-security fortress.
Top Secret
FM’s speech and the details of taxation are the most guarded secret. It’s either written by the FM himself like in the case of P Chidambaram or is done with the help of Chief Economic Advisor and FM’s office. The speech document is expected to go on print on February 26, under high security cover. Only the FS has an access to this document. Once the data gets transferred into the systems and goes on for printing, the officials from the IB, CBDT and CBEC headed by the top official sign the list of each file of the confidential papers that has been transmitted and gone for printing.
Special Arrangements
Special arrangements for the food and lodging are made for the officials, who remain inside the Budget press, virtually quarantined till February 28. The indoor canteen prepares meals and provides uninterrupted supply of tea and coffee. A special team of doctors and paramedical staff are stationed inside, who are capable of handling an emergency call.
The Crack Team
Team One: (Political) FM Arun Jaitley, MoS Jayant Sinha, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog Arvind Panagariya and Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian.
Team Two: (Officials) FS Rajiv Mehrishi, Secretary (Revenue) Shaktikanta Das, Secretary (Financial Services) Dr Hasmukh Adhia, Secretary (Disinvestment) Aradhana Johri, Chairperson (CBDT) Anita Kapur, Chairperson (CBEC) Kaushal Shrivastav, JS (Budget) Rajat Bhargava and JS (Economic Affairs).
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