In a first of its kind; Assam is all set to live stream its budget session on Google play

In a first for Assam, the state will present a unique digital budget on Monday with tablets available in the Assembly for legislators. This is the first time in India that a government will draft the budget with citizens’ participation while live streaming the session on Twitter and Facebook.

“The government will present the first e-Budget in the Assembly and each legislator will be provided with a tablet
(computer) with details of the Budget,” Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, adding that the MLAs will be able to access the tablets during discussions and cut motion on the Budget inside the House.

According to Press Trust of India, the Assam finance department had called for suggestions from the public regarding the Budget provisions, and more than one thousand people submitted their suggestions, the best of which have been sorted out for incorporation in this year’s Budget.

The mediapersons covering the Budget presentation will be given 8GB pen drive with all the details, while the entire budget will be made available on Google Play Store.

“For citizens who are on the move and may not have the time to watch the live-stream on TV or social media, the budget will be available on the Google app,” Sarma was quoted as saying by Times of India.

Even as Andhra Pradesh became the first state to present an e-budget, “but it was limited to the legislators – who got the budget documents on tablets – and was not in the public domain”.

“We are going beyond that. For the first time in the country, the proceedings of the budget presentation will go live on Twitter and Facebook,” Sarma said.

In another first, the budget will have separate chapters on gender, child, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and outcome budgeting. A report in Telegraph stated that separate budgeting will ensure that the government allocates adequate funds for welfare of women and children, and achieves the goals.