LET’S TALK ABOUT BUDGET By Subrat Das 2007 Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (www.cbgaindia.org) 89 Copyright @ 2007 Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorized, without prior written permission, provided the source is fully acknowledged. Prepared by: Subrat Das Editorial Inputs: Praveen Jha, Yamini Mishra Designing and Printing : Kriti Creative Studio, 9873249374 Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability A-11, Second Floor, Niti Bagh, Khel Gaon Marg, New Delhi - 110 049, INDIA Phone: +91-11-4174 1285 / 86 / 87 Email:
[email protected] www.cbgaindia.org 90 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This booklet is meant to help the interested but uninitiated reader in comprehending some of the important aspects of Government Budgeting in India. This is a vast subject and its depth has increased over the years. At Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA), we have been grappling with the details of Union Budgets since early 2003. Starting from 2006, we have also delved into State Budgets. I have benefited greatly from the collective experience of working on Budgets at CBGA. However, I would like to name, in particular, Mr. Siba Sankar Mohanty, Mr. Nandan Jha, Mr. Deepak Xavier and Mr. Nesar Ahmad for their valuable contribution towards CBGA Team’s comprehension of Budgets. Among the founders of CBGA, Mr. John Samuel has had a profound influence on the Team at CBGA, especially in our efforts to ‘demystify’ the Budget. Fr. Manu Alphonse and Dr. Vinod Vyasulu have played an important role in building the capacity of the Team at CBGA to comprehend and analyse Budgets.