Communicating The Annual Budget

Preparing for the coverage of the budget, both at the state and the central level, has always been a big occasion for any business newspaper or television channel. It’s an annual ritual, for which all media outfits undertake long planning processes.

 

- Buroshiva Dasgupta

Changes in technologies have made the process of procuring information much easier. There was a time when getting the bulky budget papers from Parliament or the state assemblies was a huge responsibility and because of the usual secrecy that is maintained by the finance ministry/departments, the papers reached the media houses quite late. Today, however, the budget papers (which have shrunk in size as well) are available in the government website, thanks to technology, within moments the Finance Minister starts his speech. Media people today have longer time to analyse and write their reports and edits; and speak for and against the tax moves on the television during the day itself. The ‘breaking news’ on Twitter and other social media sites has instant impact on the common man and the markets.