Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday unveiled a manual on general provisions and procedures of the annual budget-making exercise, and hoped it would help bring greater transparency and better understanding about the system.
"The manual will serve as a comprehensive reference material for all stakeholders, especially officials, involved in the budget-making process," Mukherjee told reporters.
This is the first time that the government has released a manual that deals with the budget-making process, a highly secret exercise.
The 216-page manual deals with all aspects of budget-making, right from the issue of annual budget circular to the presentation of the budget document in parliament and its implementation. It also highlights common, budget related mistakes.
Mukherjee said the manual will be a very useful document in understanding the processes and nuances related to the budget.
"Large areas of the budget-making procedures and processes have not been in public domain, leading at times to some misinterpretations and conjectures. The budget manual will shed such misconceptions," said Mukherjee.
He said the manual would serve as a guidance document to the officials involved in budget-making in the finance ministry as well as in other ministries and departments.
The manual brings out the constitutional provisions related to the budget. It describes the contents of various budget documents. It also deals with the organisational aspects, roles and responsibilities of parliament, parliamentary committees and the responsibilities of various wings of the executive in the budget making process.
"It will be like a training tool for all the officials involved in budget-making exercise," said Shaktikanta Das, joint secretary, budget.
Das said the document provides a comprehensive outline of the processes of budgeting and other related issues along with various legislative and administrative policies.