Interesting facts about the Budget

Budget is all about numbers and which section gets what. But there is more to the Budget. Here are some facts about the Budget that we must know, as reported by The Economic Times.

1) The word 'budget' is derived from the Middle English word 'bowgette', which came from 'bougette' which means a leather bag in French. According to Article 112 of the Constitution of India, the Union Budget is a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the government for that particular year.

2) The concept of a Budget was introduced in India on April 7, 1860, by the East India Company.

3) James Wilson, the financial member of Indian Council that advised the Indian Viceroy, presented the Budget for the first time.

4) Independent India's first finance minister, RK Shanmukham Chetty, presented the first Budget on November 26, 1947. That Budget covered only seven and a half months — from August 15, 1947, to March 31, 1948.

5) The process of printing documents for the Budget starts with a ritual — the 'Budget halwa' ceremony in the North Block office. The finance minister and senior officials are present during the ceremony.

6) Budget work is insanely secret. The entire text of the Budget document is prepared by selected officials and stenographers. They work on computers which are delinked from other networks and closely monitored.

7) All the staff working on the Budget, nearly 100 officials, stays in the North Block for two to three weeks. They are cut-off from the outside world, including their families. They are provided just one phone on which they can only receive calls.