Finmin 'quarantined' from today as Budget-making exercise begins

North Block in New Delhi, the seat of the finance ministry, will be in a 'quarantine' from today until the presentation of the Budget. With this, the Ministry of Finance will be out of bounds for visitors and media as it gets down to prepare BJP-led NDA government's last Budget.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley will announce the interim Budget on February 1. The interim Budget or vote-on-account, generally presented in an election year, will see Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government seek Parliament's nod for expenditure for a period of three months from April to June. A full Budget for 2019-20 will be presented by the new government, to be elected after general elections.

To keep the whole Budget a secret exercise, North Block will be guarded like gold in Fort Knox, even as many question the secrecy around the Budget in this age and time.

During the 'quarantine' period, access to all the entry and exit points of the ministry will be controlled by the security personnel under the watch of the intelligence agencies. While the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will guard the ministry at all the access points, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) personnel, assisted by Delhi police, will take over the building to keep a close watch on the movements of those entering the rooms of the officials involved in the Budget-making process.

To maintain secrecy, "the officials and other staff of the finance ministry do not meet visitors during the quarantine period. If someone is invited by the official to his or her office for the Budget-related work, a pass signed by a senior official is issued to facilitate the entry," said a senior official of the ministry.

The actual 'quarantine', however, begins in the last 10 days or so when some of the ministry staff will be completely cut off from the outside world.

The IB will keep round-the-clock surveillance on the building over the next two months.

"Initially, the security will be deployed outside the rooms of the top officials like secretaries and joint secretaries. Slowly, about 20 rooms housing officials involved in drafting and printing of the Budget are taken under the security cover. The CRPF jawans guarding the room will keep a checklist of people allowed to enter these rooms," said another official.

"The security will be beefed up in January, closer to the final day when the printing of the Budget documents starts," another official said, adding that the place will see more deployments including that from the Delhi police.

As the Budget exercise begins, "all the computers will be scanned for any bug or virus. The computers, as well as phones, will be under constant surveillance of the IB," the official said.

The intelligence agency sets up an exchange inside the building. Jammers will be installed for mobile phones while scanners at the entry and exit points will particularly ensure that no one brings pen drive or any other copying device.

The finance minister holds several meetings with the secretaries and the experts during December and January. After the Budget is drafted, it goes for printing in the last week of January after the traditional 'halwa' ceremony. "The printing of about 15-odd documents including the Finance Bill and the Appropriation Bill is done during the last 10 days before the Budget is presented. Two of the most 'secret' documents - the Finance Bill containing tax proposals and FM's speech with announcements about new schemes - are the last ones to go to the press which is housed in the basement of the finance ministry," said a senior finance ministry official involved in the Budget-making exercise.

On the last couple of days, the internet connections and the telephone lines at the ministry are snapped till the Budget is presented.

The real 'quarantine' begins during the last ten days of January when the printing of the Budget documents starts. The printing press area where the Budget documents are printed will be 'quarantined'. Around 100 employees involved in the Budget-making process will be lodged inside the ministry. During this period, they are not allowed to go out of the building or use mobile phones, internet or social media. The immediate family can make only urgent calls on the landline phone which is under surveillance.

The printing press was shifted to the finance ministry in 1980 in view of security. Until 1950, Budget papers used to be printed inside the Rashtrapati Bhawan. After a leakage incident, the press was moved to Mint Road and later to the North Block. "Earlier, the press used to print around 13,000 Budget copies. The number of copies is going down in the digital age. We are printing about 2,500 sets of Budget documents since the last couple of years," an official said.

The signature leather briefcase, carried by the finance minister, which has become symbolic of the Budget over the years, is a legacy of the British Raj. The 'Budget' has its origin in the French word 'baguette' which means 'little bag'. The Budget bag has been used by the British Chancellor to carry his speech for over 150 years.

The briefcase containing the FM's speech, which guides the direction of the government's economic policies, is carried by the FM to the Parliament where he reads out the Budget speech. While the Modi government has ditched the British-era practice of presenting the Budget on the last day of February, it continues with the legacy where the FM carries the Budget briefcase, a symbol of secrecy.

STRICT VIGIL

• The Central Reserve Police Force will guard the ministry at all the access points
   
• IB, Delhi police will watch the movements of those entering the rooms of the officials