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In contrast, the current Prime Minister and his FM, who are said to be on the same wavelength on Budgetary matters, have had six intense sessions over the past three weeks to hammer out details.

And while Chidambaram has been working on the Budget for 12 hours every day with his team, taking only a short break for lunch, Singh has been kept in the loop every step of the way.

• One meeting in the last week of June started at 11 am and was scheduled to finish by 1 pm. Instead, it stretched till 2.15 pm and was halted only on the intervention of the Prime Minister’s personal physician who pointed out that it was well past lunch time and the PM’s health was more important.

• After last week’s Cabinet meeting in the South Block office of the Prime Minister, when their other colleagues had left, Singh and Chidambaram stayed back for a 45-minute chat between themselves. This was impromptu brainstorming, in addition to their six other sessions.

• Their most recent meetings were held on Friday. This time, too, the session that started at 11 am stretched beyond the two hours that had been allotted to it. Once again, the PM’s physician had to step in to interrupt it. Another unscheduled meet then took place at 6 pm at the 7, Race Course Road office of the PM and last a couple of hours.

• As is customary, Chidambaram has been meeting his Cabinet colleagues to discuss their ministries’ demands. The difference is that Singh, too, has got involved in the exercise and has held meetings with Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, among others, to discuss the farmer situation.

• At least twice, in the initial phase of the exercise, Singh and Chidambaram met alone to conceptualise the Budget. Other officials have attended the subsequent meetings.

• Singh often judges each proposal by one yardstick: How does it affect the common man?

Former PM I.K. Gujral told The Sunday Express: ‘‘Budgets are very important for the PM but the exercise is normally done by the Finance Minister and his team. When the rough shape is ready, the PM and FM discuss it before the final draft is ready and then this is confidential information between the PM and his FM.’’

Singh’s aides point out that there is a precedent to the Prime Minister’s involvement. Said one of them: “If you talk of finance ministers during Rajiv Gandhi’s time nobody would blame you if you forgot Narayan Dutt Tiwari as the Budget had Rajiv Gandhi’s stamp.”

This one is more likely to have the stamp of two men.