In an age where AI-powered chatbots are being widely used and promoted, Chhattisgarh's Finance Minister, OP Choudhary, opted to write a 100-page budget by himself in Hindi, reflecting his hands-on approach and commitment to the budget preparation process.
A former IAS who quit service to join politics, Choudhary saw it as a bigger medium to serve the public, literally burning the midnight oil, hardly sleeping for a couple of hours in the days leading to the presentation on March 4 in Chhattisgarh Assembly.
The rare act also displayed a sense of ownership to the state's financial planning and goals as most budget documents are typically prepared by a team of officials or typed out on computers. On his initiative, he said, "I was writing my own (Budget) speech, and I realised that a handwritten document expresses my feelings, my emotions, my vision, my commitment, and my attachment more. And so, I thought, I should write in my handwriting."
A handwritten document reflects the attachment and emotions better, he added, displaying his handwritten 100-page document.
Budget written in 10 days, says Choudhary
On being asked how long it took to write the entire document, he said that the Budget was prepared for 5-6 months, but the actual writing on the components of the Budget started about a week or 10 days before the presentation.
"I literally didn't sleep for four nights (prior to the Budget presentation). I hardly slept 1-1.5 hours in those four nights. And this is when I wrote the Budget," he added. Notably, this was perhaps the first time a finance minister has presented a handwritten annual budget in the assembly. The minister further added, "The handwritten budget symbolises authenticity and transparency in governance."
(With PTI Inputs)
