In what can be termed as a break from the decade-old tradition, Finance and Company Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, has decided to cancel the routine pre-Budget meetings with groups of economists, industrialists, agriculturists, consumer bodies and the like.
These discussions were generally scheduled to be held during the first fortnight of January.
According to finance ministry sources, Singh has informally conveyed his disapproval of holding such meetings.
The minister is of the view that the Budget-making process this year has been transparent enough in the backdrop of the wide-ranging discussions based on the Kelkar reports and the subsequent mid-year review, both of which have been posted on the Net.
There is also very little possibility of flexibility in expenditure management by the finance ministry to accommodate diverse needs.
The ministry has not yet started preparing the agenda papers or the list of invitees for the purpose.
The meetings with pressure groups was Manmohan Singh's brainchild when he was the finance minister in 1990-91.
During the first few years, only economists together with senior editors, banks and institutions, and industrialists presented their views to the minister on what the Budget should focus on.
Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, however, broad-based the meetings by holding separate discussions with agriculturists, consumer groups and trade unions.
The meetings would be spread out over a period of 7-10 days with each group taking up a few hours of the minister's time.
Finance ministry sources point out that during the course of the meetings, finance ministers hardly ever made any promises after elaborate presentations by each of the groups were made.
Instead, they restricted themselves to opening remarks, allowing the speakers to voice their opinions.
"Giving one's opinion to the finance minister is generally considered a privilege by many," said an official.
Sources, however said Singh's ministry had little leeway in diverting expenditure based on the inputs of various groups.
"There is just 2-5 per cent of the expenditure which can be allocated if certain sectors have to be favoured," said an official, adding that non-Plan expenditure was very rigid.
Sources maintained that the process was more of a ritual that did little to enhance the government's understanding of the economy.
The tête-à-tête with economists in the early 1990s was necessary for imparting direction to the policy-making process.
But now with little room for new policy initiatives and the need for micro-management gaining importance, such meetings have lost focus.
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