 "Sitharaman keeps paperless budget tradition, carries tablet in 'Bahi-Khata'")
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the full Union Budget for the financial year 2024-25 in a paperless format on Tuesday. Sitharaman carried a digital tablet wrapped in a traditional 'bahi-khata' style red pouch as she headed to Parliament.
This marks the fourth consecutive year that Sitharaman has opted for a digital presentation. The finance minister started the practice in 2021, during the presentation of the first Budget since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Dressed in a white silk saree with a magenta border, Sitharaman posed for the customary pre-Budget photograph outside her office with her team of officials. She then proceeded to meet President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan before heading to Parliament.
Union Budget: Switch to digital tablet from paper
The switch to a digital tablet from traditional paper documents was first made in 2021, reflecting a modern approach while retaining traditional elements. The tablet, enclosed in a red cover embossed with the national emblem, has replaced the briefcase that was once a symbol of Budget presentations.
This modern yet traditional approach has been embraced in subsequent years, with Sitharaman using a digital tablet wrapped in the red pouch for her Budget presentations in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and now in 2024.
When the finance minister initially switched from carrying a traditional briefcase to 'bahi-khata' in 2019, she joked, "A Congress finance minister in future will bring an iPad."
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Union Budget: Bahi-khata over budget briefcase
Sitharaman, the first full-time woman finance minister of India, abandoned the colonial-era Budget briefcase in July 2019, opting instead for the 'bahi-khata' to carry Budget documents. The bhi-khata is an Indian traditional accounting ledger.
Her maiden Budget, presented on July 5, 2019, featured a red cloth folder with the national emblem, replacing the briefcase used by her predecessors.
Following her Budget presentation in 2019, she explained, "Why did I not use a leather bag to carry Budget documents? I thought it is high time we move on from the British hangover, to do something on our own. And well, easier for me to carry too."
She continued this practice in subsequent years, cementing it as a new tradition.
Indian finance ministers have used various briefcase styles and colours. In 1860, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, William E Gladstone, carried his Budget papers in a red suitcase, establishing the briefcase as a symbol of Budget presentations.
In India, the first finance minister, RK Shanmukham Chetty, carried a leather portfolio for the 1947 Budget. Over the years, finance ministers such as TT Krishnamachari, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Manmohan Singh have used various types of briefcases. Most recently, Piyush Goyal, who presented the interim Budget in February 2019, carried a red briefcase.
Seventh consecutive Budget presented by FM Sitharaman
The Budget for 2024-25 is the seventh straight Budget presented by Sitharaman, setting a record. This Budget is also the 13th consecutive Budget of the Modi government since 2014, including two interim Budgets ahead of the general elections in 2019 and 2024.
Follow all live updates on the 2024-25 Union Budget presentation here.