Budget 2022 to be paperless; to be digitally accessible 

The Union Budget will be paperless this year too, in an attempt to go green. Going paperless will enable the government to cut down on the printing of documents for the presentation of tax proposals and financial statements. Barring a handful of physical copies, the Budget 2022 documents will be available mostly digitally.

The government had also launched the 'Union Budget Mobile App' in 2021 so that the Members of Parliament (MPs) and the general public could access the documents with just a few clicks.

The voluminous Budget documents usually include the finance minister’s speech in the Parliament, annual financial statement, finance bill, memorandum to explain the provisions in financial bill, macroeconomic framework statement, fiscal policy strategy statement, outcome framework for schemes, customs notification, implementation of previous announcements, receipt budget, expenditure budget, and budget estimates.

Last year, for the first time since Independence, the government decided not to print the Budget documents. It appears to be the making of a new tradition.

Moreover, the Budget 2022 skipped the halwa ceremony too this year. The halwa ceremony marks the beginning of the printing of the Budget, and is attended by the finance minister, deputy finance ministers and other senior officials in the finance ministry. Halwa is prepared in a big ‘kadhai’ and is served to the entire staff involved in the exercise. Following the event, the officials and staff directly involved in the Budget-making are isolated till the presentation of the Budget.

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