Budget process must be more open: Survey

NEW DELHI: While the interim budget is around the corner, India scored 60 points out of 100 for openness of budgets to citizens and overall commitment to financial transparency in a survey conducted by Washington based International Budget Partnership along with Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA).

The survey conducted across 85 countries ranks India at 18th position for transparency, below other developing countries like South Africa (2) and Sri Lanka (14).

���It is challenging to track India���s public spending, revenue collections and borrowings during the year,��� CBGA
researcher Siba Sankar Mohanty said.

India also makes its audit reports public and provides information on whether the audit recommendations have been implemented. And India is one of only 17 countries in the study that publishes a Citizens Budget, which presents budget information to public in an easily understandable format.

The survey suggests ways in which India���s budget process could be made more open. The legislature does not hold hearings on the budget in which the public can submit testimony. In addition, the Comptroller and Auditor General receives very little public input on potential subjects for audits, so it could expand efforts to generate feedback.