Online suggestions can strengthen the democratic process
Jagran correspondent, Patna. Every year the Central Government takes steps to ensure public participation during the preparations for the General Budget. In this process, common citizens can directly send their suggestions to the government through online medium. Experts believe that if this system is made more effective, the budget can become more people-oriented and practical.
Dr. Bashistha Amit Kumar Sinha, Faculty, Bihar Institute of Public Finance and Policy (BIPFP) said that India's budget is not just a financial document, but an important instrument to decide the country's economic priorities and future direction. The entire world keeps an eye on India's budget, because it affects not only the country's internal economy but also the global markets.
He said that the Central Government presents the General Budget in the first week of February, while before that the States send their suggestions to the Centre. In today's digital era, common citizens can also give their suggestions related to the budget through the Central Government website www.mygov.in and the Finance Ministry website www.finmin.nic.in. These suggestions may relate to various subjects, such as education, health, employment, agriculture, industry and social welfare.
According to Dr. Sinha, the process of budget making is completed in several stages. A few months before the presentation of the budget, proposals are taken from various ministries and departments. After this, suggestions are received from the states and finally the Union Finance Ministry considers all the aspects and decides the form of the final budget. If public participation is seriously included in this entire process, then both the quality and acceptability of policies can increase.
Experts say that suggestions from common citizens help in bringing to the fore the problems on the ground. This makes it easier for the government to understand what the real needs of the public are. Increasing public participation in the budget also strengthens transparency and accountability, which further strengthens the foundation of democracy.
Overall, the system of online suggestions can become a powerful medium to connect common people with policy making. There is a need to publicize it more and ensure concrete action on the suggestions, so that the budget can truly become a 'people's budget'.