Budget 2019: Why are Budget copies a secret document?

Bengaluru, Feb 01: While interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal will present the Union Budget before Parliament on Friday, there is a team of over hundred officials who have been spending more than a week in the ministry building with no social interaction.

This core team of civil servants work to prepare one of the most well-guarded documents in the country. The use of both fixed-line and mobile phones are banned as the officials work in the quarantine zone inside the building.

The Finance Ministry has been under quarantine since December 1. This process of quarantine is observed every year to avoid any leak of information.

Why are the copies a secret document?

On the day of the UK Budget in 1947, Hugh Dalton, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, met a journalist as he walked into parliament and casually spewed a few details on tax changes. The journalist went on to break the story before the speech. Dalton, as a result, had to resign. This is when India's Budget became a secret document as well. Also, when Parliament is in session, it became necessary for it to be informed first of any government matter to be discussed.