IN PICS | 'Brief' History Of Budget: From Briefcase To Digital Bahikhata

From colonial era briefcase to digital era bahikhata, Budget documents have seen many carries. Before FM Nirmala Sitharaman presents Budget 2023, here is a brief history of the Budget briefcase

Budget 2023 A Brief History From Budget Briefcase To Digital Bahikhata

Budget briefcase just as the entire Budget process has been handed over to India by the British. British use a briefcase called ‘Gladstone box’ to carry their Budget documents. [Image Credit: Getty]

The tradition has been passed down in Britain since the early 1800s. It started in 1860, William Ewart Gladstone brought the Budget document in a red briefcase. William Ewart Gladstone later went on to become Britain's 4 time PM. [Image Credit: Getty]

Ever since, British Chancellor used the same red Gladstone box till 2010 when it was officially retired. [Image Credit: Getty]

In India, however FMs always used different briefcases in every Budget. [Image Credit: Getty]

Here is picture of then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrives at Parliament to present the Budget for 1984 -1985 on February 29, 1984 in New Delhi. [Image Credit: Getty]

During the 1998-99 Budget, then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha introduced a black leather bag with straps and buckles, while former PM Manmohan Singh carried a plain black bag during his popular 1991 Budget. [Image Credit: Getty]

India’s first FM R K Shanmukham Chetty brought a suitcase to present Budget. [Image Credit: Getty]

In order to do away with the colonial practice of presenting the Union Budget in a briefcase, Finance Minister Niramla Sitharaman presented the Budget of 2018-19 in a 'Bahikhata', a red velvet cloth to give it a more Indian appearance of book-keeping or khata. [Image Credit: Getty]

In Budget 2020-21, Finance Minister Niramla Sitharaman made a modification in the convention and presented the Budget through a tablet in order to give a push to PM Narendra Modi's 'Digital India' initiative. [Image Credit: Getty]