Ahead of the Union Budget (interim) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was seen displaying the iconic 'bahi-khata' tablet, from which the Budget will be read out on Thursday. Wearing a blue sari, Sitharaman was seen with the tablet outside the Ministry of Finance in New Delhi.
The tablet, housed in a red cover with a golden Ashok Stambh national emblem, replaced the traditional leather briefcase in 2019. Sitharaman had carried a similar tablet during the previous year's budget announcement.
This impending budget holds significance as it represents Sitharaman's sixth and final Union Budget under the Modi 2.0 government, preceding the 2024 general election. In a notable shift from tradition, the Union Budget transitioned to a paperless format in 2021 when Sitharaman introduced the use of a tablet, replacing the Swadeshi bahi khata.
Breaking away from the long-standing practice of presenting budget documents in a leather briefcase, Sitharaman embraced the swadeshi spirit with a bahi khata during her initial budget presentation in Parliament in 2019. In 2021, she further modernized the budget presentation process by launching the 'Union Budget Mobile App'. The app is aimed at providing Members of Parliament (MPs) and the general public with easy access to Budget documents through a user-friendly digital platform.
The Union Budget Mobile App ensures comprehensive access to essential Union Budget documents, including the Annual Financial Statement (commonly referred to as the Budget), Demand for Grants (DG), and the Finance Bill, as mandated by the Constitution.
The term 'Budget' finds its origin in the French word "Bougette," which translates to a leather briefcase. The tradition of using a briefcase for the budget presentation is a replication of the British practice involving the 'Gladstone box.' In 1860, William E Gladstone, the British budget chief, utilized a red suitcase featuring the Queen's monogram embossed in gold to carry budget documents, leading to the box being named the 'Gladstone Box.' In 1947, India's first Finance Minister, RK Shanmukham Chetty, followed suit by presenting the inaugural Budget with a leather portfolio.
It is worth noting that a significant shift in the budget presentation timeline occurred during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, when the then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha presented the budget at 11 am, deviating from the traditional time of 5 pm. Subsequently, this change became a norm, with all subsequent governments opting for an 11 am presentation time.