CHENNAI: Industry analysts and economists called for more transparency and accountability in the State's budgetary exercise, at a meeting held here on Saturday.

They pointed to the absence of a mechanism to review budgetary performance in the previous year. "There is no way to analyse what budgetary allocations finally translate to," said V. Ranganathan, general committee member, Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In most other countries, there was seldom an element of surprise in what the Government sought to collect from the taxpayer, but India was an exception, he added.

Areas of concern

Speaking on the `perceptions of the liberal budget', Sunil.S. Bhandare, advisor, Economic and Government Policy, Tata Strategic Management Group, said the major challenge was the need to convert the youth population into an employable and productive group. Growing regional imbalances, declining effectiveness of expenditure in the social structure, high levels of absolute poverty, inadequate growth in employment and weak financial positions of States were areas of "serious concern".

"India's post-reforms development exercise lacks in its inclusive dimension," he noted.

Speakers said the system was burdened with a multiplicity of tax legislation. They called for consultation with stakeholders and suggested that details of amounts spent in various sectors be made available on web sites of government departments.

The MCCI organised the meeting to discuss the `liberal budget', presented by members of the Indian Liberal Group.

The `liberal budget', drawn for the consideration of planners and policy makers, seeks to provide an assessment of the Government's economic policy and performance, with reference to fiscal policy. This year's edition, `Liberal Budget 4', focuses on `taking reforms to the poor'.

A. Sankarakrishnan, president, MCCI, M.R. Venkatesh, partner, GSV Associates, and S. Radhakrishnan, president, ILG, spoke.

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