Raipur, Mar 9 (PTI) In an age where even court rulings are drafted using AI-powered chatbots, Chhattisgarh's Finance Minister OP Choudhary showcased his personal dedication by presenting a 100-page handwritten budget in Hindi, reflecting his hands-on approach and commitment to the budget preparation process.

Choudhary, a former IAS who quit service to join politics as he saw it as a bigger medium to serve the public, literally burnt midnight oil, hardly sleeping for a couple of hours in the days leading to the March 4 presentation of the Budget for the fiscal year starting April 1 in the Chhattisgarh assembly.

The rare act that displayed a sense of ownership and dedication to the state's financial planning and goals stood out, especially since most budget documents are typically prepared by a team of officials or typed out on computers.

"I was writing my own (Budget) speech and I realised that a handwritten document expresses my feelings, my emotions, my vision, my commitment, and my attachment more. And so, I thought, I should write in my own handwriting," he said.

A handwritten document reflects the attachment and emotions better, he said, displaying his handwritten 100-page document.

Asked how long it took to write the entire document, he said the Budget had been in the works for 5-6 months but the actual writing on the components of the Budget started about a week or 10 days before the presentation.

"I literally didn't sleep for four nights (prior to the Budget presentation). I hardly slept 1-1.5 hours in those four nights. And this is when I wrote the Budget," he said.

The act, he said, about his personal involvement and commitment to the state's finances.

This is perhaps the first time a finance minister has presented a handwritten annual budget in the assembly.

His act is being seen as an expression of care and attention to detail in crafting the budget. The personal touch added a special significance to the financial planning for the state and emphasised the transparency and the minister's approach to handling the state's finances with direct engagement.

"The handwritten budget symbolises authenticity and transparency in governance," the minister said.

The Rs 1,65,100 crore budget lays a roadmap for the rapid economic advancement of the state, with a special focus on the development of Leftwing extremism-hit Bastar.

While the budget of the previous year focused on the theme GYAN (Gareeb, Yuva, Annadata & Nari), this year's Budget aims to drive progress in the state under the theme of GYAN ke liye 'GATI' to build on the progress made so far, Choudhary said.

In GATI, G stands for good governance, A for accelerating infrastructure, T for technology and I for industrial growth, he said.

"The previous year's budget laid a foundation for inclusive development. This year's budget has presented the next step in that developmental journey." A 2005-batch IAS officer, Choudhary resigned as Raipur Collector in 2018 to join the BJP. His strong command of Hindi, a subject he had studied during his UPSC preparation, helped him write the budget in his preferred style.

"For 13 years of my bureaucratic life, I worked with full dedication, giving my 100 per cent. I was at the peak of my career... I was the collector of Raipur capital," he said, recalling what prompted him to quick service and join politics.

"A thought came to my mind that there is so much growth in India, there is so much opportunity in India. There are so many opportunities to do so much in India. So, I thought that if there is a bigger platform than civil services it is politics." Politics, he said, is a bigger medium to have a larger impact on the lives of people than being a bureaucrat.

"I had read statements in my childhood that the consequence of good people not joining politics is that bad people end up ruling over good people. So, I was inspired by this thought and took the decision to come into politics." Choudhary said he was influenced by the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah and joined politics.

He lost the first election in 2018 but won from Raigarh constituency in 2023. PTI BAL BAL