Image Source : PTI Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to present Budget 2025 on February 1.
New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to present the record eighth consecutive budget that is expected to contain measures to address economic growth and ease the burden on the middle class of the country. This budget will take Sitharaman closer to the record of 10 budgets that were presented by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. Notably, Desai had presented a total of 6 budgets during his tenure as finance minister in 1959-1964, and 4 budgets between 1967-1969. Prior to this, former finance ministers P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee had presented nine and eight budgets, respectively, under different Prime Ministers.
However, these finance ministers were photographed carrying a briefcase to Parliament for the presentation of the Union Budget. But 2019 marked a big shift when Nirmala Sitharaman ditched this practice for a ‘bahi khata’ and opted for a paperless format in 2021 by using a ‘Made in India’ tablet. It is interesting to note the journey of the presentation of the Union Budget from briefcase to a completely paperless mode as it is quite fascinating.
From Bahi Khata and briefcase to tablet, the presentation of the Union Budget has undergone a massive transformation over these years. Traditionally, earlier finance ministers were photographed carrying a briefcase to the Parliament for presenting Budget papers. However, in 2019, Sitharaman broke that tradition and introduced a ‘bahi khata,’ a traditional Indian accounting ledger, replacing the colonial-era briefcase. In 2021, she gave way to modern technology by presenting the Budget on a made-in-India tablet, a paperless format.
Briefcase:
It should be noted that India’s first finance minister RK Shankmukham Chetty presented the Budget papers in a briefcase to present the Budget. This Budget briefcase was a copy of the ‘Gladstone Box’, named after British Chancellor of the Exchequer William Ewart Gladstone. This trend of carrying budget papers in a briefcase continued for a few years and many finance ministers used different briefcases during their tenures.
Bahi Khata:
In an effort to give an Indian touch to the Budget, Nirmala Sitharaman for the first time carried a right-red ‘bahi khata’ in 2019, instead of the traditional briefcase. She had talked about this new change and said she thought it was better to move out from British handhold. Earlier, the ‘bahi khata’ was used in India for decades by business owners and households to maintain their accounts.
Tablet:
As technology started advancing, FM Sitharaman wanted to paperless in 2021 and presented the Budget in tablet which was made in India. She carried the tablet to the Parliament wrapped in a red bahi khata-style pouch in 2021. Again this time, Sitharaman is expected to present the Budget for financial year 2024-25 on February 1 with the new tablet.
