Opinion Budget: What people want

In a move away from hallowed tradition, the finance ministry is soliciting public opinion on Twitter about the focus of the impending budget. A good idea, but it may need to work on the questions. The ministry wants to know, for instance, whom to play Santa Claus for — farmers, the middle class, women or the underprivileged? All of the above, obviously. Which sector should the budget favour — agriculture, industry or services? Again, obviously, all of the above. The really creative question would be, how should the ministry address a middle-class woman farmer who has pulled herself up by the bootstraps from an underprivileged background and now, fearing land alienation, seeks work in industry?

The preparation of the Union budget has always been a ritualistically secret affair, symbolised by the decisively closed briefcase that the finance minister brings, held close to his chest, to a House waiting with bated breath. It could be argued that it must be so. Transparency in the preparation of the budget would invite market volatility. So would a Twitter poll, which would also be skewed by its disconnect from the underprivileged majority. Trends would be visible to the world, which would try to second-guess the ministry. That’s human nature, whose market implications are unpredictable.

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Embracing new technologies looks progressive by default, but the results can often be fraught. In 2009, Germany was rocked by Twittergate when the re-election of Horst Köhler as president was tweeted by two politicians 15 minutes ahead of the official declaration. In 2013, Azerbaijan’s presidential election was called in favour of the authoritarian incumbent by a government app before polling had even started. Such bizarre outcomes are not anticipated from the Indian finance ministry’s passion for electronics. But let’s watch this space.