Edited by Deepali Verma
Nirmala Sitharaman created history as she becames the second Finance Minister to present the Budget for six consecutive years. Ms Sitharaman, ditched the traditional ‘bahi khata’ in 2021 and started the trend of presenting the budget in a paperless format, embarking on a fascinating evolution from the traditional briefcase to a ‘Made in India’ tablet.
RK Shanmukham Chetty, the first Finance Minister of independent India, continued with the British-era tradition of making use of a leather portfolio bag for the first Union Budget. This practice carried on for years, with finance ministers picking different briefcases over time. The ‘budget briefcase’, representative of the Gladstone Box of the colonial era, was established as a symbol of this ceremonial event.
Nirmala Sitharaman, however in 2019, shattered this long-standing tradition by replacing the historical briefcase with a ‘bahi khata’, that is a red-coloured Bharatiya accounting ledger. The move was interpreted as a step forwards in shedding the colonial legacy associated with the budget presentation. Ms Sitharaman remarked that the utility of ‘bahi khata’ was more convenient to carry and reflected an authentic Bharatiya touch to the budgetary exercise, being a tool used by business owners for decades.
The Finance Minister in 2021 embraced modernity by presenting the budget in a paperless format while making use of a ‘Made in India’ tablet. This shift both aligned with the government’s ‘Digital India’ initiative as well as addressed the practical aspects of presenting a comprehensive budget. Carrying the tablet in a red ‘bahi khata’-style pouch, Sitharaman upheld a connection with tradition while simultaneously embracing technological advancements. This move gained traction because it was the first budget presentation coming after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the adaptability of the finance ministry to unprecedented challenges.
