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Arthashastra 2006: Annual Union Budget Analysis Held at XIM, Bhubaneswar Our economy today revolves around the axis of sound financial planning. A snapshot of this is given by the Union Budget presented by the finance minister every year. The budget gives us a detailed picture, in layman's terms, of how our country's financial resources have been managed. Our country's Union Budget is unique, as it considers not only the past and the present, but also the future. Capitalizing on this feature is not an option, but the solemn duty of an effective and efficient manager. They say that a picture speaks louder than a thousand words. This is exactly why the budget should be analyzed with a certain degree of scrutiny. This would, then, provide a greater insight into the nitty-gritty of the robust financial engine, also known as the Indian Economy. On the 4th of March 2006, the finance association of XIMB, also known as X-FIN conducted an event to do just that. 'Arthashastra', as the event was called, was a detailed budget discussion involving luminaries not only from the industrial sphere, but also from noted academic circles. 'In happiness of his subjects lies the king's happiness, in their welfare his welfare. He shall not consider good only that which pleases him, but treat as beneficial to him whatever pleases his subjects.' Thus spake Chanakya in his famous work called 'Arthashastra'. Here, Chanakya had minutely studied the collection of revenue and disbursement of financial resources. Arthashastra not only deals with the ethics of economics and the duties and obligations of the government, but also contains guidelines on managing an efficient and solid economy. Though his era of existence has long ended, his words of wisdom have survived eons of turmoil and change. A master of economics and state diplomacy, Chanakya's words ring true even today. This is precisely the reason why the X-FIN christened this event as 'Arthashastra'. The program started with a brief outline of what this year's Union Budget was all about. This outline created the basic framework around which the rest of the event would wrap itself. This presentation of the salient features of the budget was done by one of the students of XIMB, who was also a member of the X-FIN committee. The discourse of the honorable Finance Minister of Orissa, Mr. Prafulla Chandra Ghadai, was next in the long line on discussions that would follow. He explained how the vision of the union finance ministry, behind the preparation of the Union Budget, was based on the fact that there was sufficient liquidity in the market. He stressed on how the growth in the social sector was imperative to the overall growth of the nation. However, he impressed upon the audience the extent to which lack of infrastructure has been detrimental to the economic development of our nation.
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