Budget 2024: From Bahi Khata, Briefcase To Tablet – Check How Budget Papers Changed In These Years

Budget 2024: After the British rule, Independent India’s first finance minister RK Shankmukham Chetty carried the first Budget papers in a leather portfolio bag to the Parliament.

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to create history when she presents her seventh straight Budget on Tuesday for the fiscal 2024-25, surpassing the record of former prime minister Morarji Desai.

From Bahi Khata and briefcase to tablet, the presentation of the Union Budget has undergone a massive transformation over the years. Conventionally, earlier finance ministers were photographed carrying a briefcase to the Parliament for presenting Budget papers. However, in 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman broke that tradition and introduced a ‘bahi khata,’ a traditional Indian accounting ledger, replacing the colonial-era briefcase.

Then from that time, the transition continued in 2021 when Sitharaman introduced a paperless format, using a ‘Made in India’ tablet for the budget presentation. This latest approach aligned with PM Modi’s emphasis on a ‘digital India’.

After the British rule ended, Independent India’s first finance minister RK Shankmukham Chetty, continued the British fashion and carried the first Budget papers in a leather portfolio bag.

However, in 2019, Nirmala Sitharaman became the first finance minister who brought a change and opted for a ‘bahi khata’, giving the presentation an Indian touch. Later in 2021, she gave way to modern technology by presenting the Budget on a made-in-India tablet, a paperless format.

Briefcase:

India’s first finance minister RK Shankmukham Chetty carried the Budget papers in a briefcase to present the Budget. Interestingly, the 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 different finance ministers used different briefcases.

Bahi Khata:

Giving an Indian touch to the Budget, Nirmala Sitharaman carried a right-red ‘bahi khata’ in 2019, instead of the traditional briefcase. Talking about the new change, she had 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:

With the advancement of technology, FM Sitharaman went paperless in 2021 and presented the Budget in tablet which was made in India.  Sitharaman carried the tablet to the Parliament wrapped in a red bahi khata-style pouch in 2021. With the new tablet, Sitharaman is expected to present the Interim Budget for financial year 2024-25 on February 1.