Question

Which among the following states, for the first time, removed the veil of secrecy over budget preparation and released the 'draft budget' for the year 2002-03 for public debate?

• A. Karnataka
• B. Andhra Pradesh
• C. Orissa
• D. Chhattisgarh

Hint:

Think of the state that ran an active e-governance and citizen-participation drive in the early 2000s under its Vision 2020 plan.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks which Indian state broke from the usual closed-door tradition of budget making and put out a draft budget for the public to see and comment on, before the final budget for 2002-03 was presented.

Step 2: Key Facts:
State budgets in India are normally worked out inside the finance department and the cabinet, with the public seeing the numbers only when the finance minister reads the budget speech in the assembly. Around 2001-02, a few states began experimenting with more open, participatory budget processes as part of wider e-governance reforms.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Andhra Pradesh, under Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, was running an active e-governance and citizen-participation drive under its Vision 2020 plan in this period. As part of that push, the state released a draft budget for 2002-03 ahead of the final one and invited comments from citizens, trade bodies and experts, a step no other Indian state had taken at that point. Karnataka has a strong name for grama sabha and participatory local planning, but that is a separate exercise from a state releasing a full draft budget for public review. Orissa in these years was occupied with correcting a serious fiscal and debt crisis, not with transparency experiments of this kind. Chhattisgarh was a state barely two years old in 2002, still setting up its basic administration, so it could not have led such a reform.

Step 4: Final Answer:
Andhra Pradesh was the first state to release its draft budget for 2002-03 for public debate, so the answer is option (2).