As a part of the Central Vista redevelopment, the government is planning to set up the Budget Press, which is the secure printing facility where the annual Union Budget is printed, at the under-construction Kartavya Bhawan 9 building, where the Finance Ministry is expected to shift upon completion, according to officials.

The Delhi Urban Art Commission in its meeting on July 16 approved a revised plan by the CPWD architect that includes “Budget press added in the ground floor of Kartavya Bhawan 9”, as per the minutes of the meeting.

The location of the press, which is also used to print the Economic Survey, gained significance after the Union Budget of 1956-1957 leaked from the printing press located at Rashtrapati Bhawan. It was then that the Finance Ministry decided that the Budget Press should be located within its own premises at North Block. Last year, when the Finance Ministry moved out of North Block into Kartavya Bhawan 1, the existing machinery could not be shifted due to space and weight constraints. The Finance Ministry had on September 2, 2025 floated a tender for new, lighter printing machines to be fit into the space available at KB 1.

In the file notings along with the tender document, the Ministry had said: “Additionally, the load-bearing capacity of the floors, particularly on the ground level, was found to be inadequate for heavy-duty post-press machines such as paper-cutters and trimmers. These technical limitations necessitated a re-evaluation of the machinery options originally proposed.”

However, the new press was still under trial in time for the Union Budget 2026-2027 in February, leading to the Budget to be printed in North Block, according to government sources. The printing of the Budget is carried out under a security cover, with the officers concerned being “locked in” at the premises from the time the printing starts till the Finance Minister presents the Budget in Parliament.

Now, officials in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Finance Ministry say the Budget Press at North Block has been dismantled as the building is being renovated into a museum, and the press at KB 1 has been installed. Officials say though the allotment of the space would be done when the building is completed, the Finance Ministry could move into KB 9, which is under-construction at Maulana Azad Road. Keeping that in mind, the Central Public Works Department has designed the building to house the Budget Press, they said.

After the 1956-1957 Budget leak from the printing press, a case under the Official Secrets Act was lodged. The court proceedings show that the general foreman of the Rashtrapati Bhawan press, FX Jacobs, had given information about the taxation proposals in the Budget before its presentation to a Delhi resident, DP Chadha, who further sold it some Mumbai-based businessmen.