Budget 2025: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman syncs tradition and tech with tab wrapped in ‘bahi-khata’ pouch | Watch

Budget 2025: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2025 today with a digital tablet wrapped in a traditional 'bahi-khata' (Indian ledger) style pouch as she heads for Parliament.

Continuing with the tradition, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman poses with the budget document outside Parliament ahead of the Budget 2025 speech.

When did FM Sitharaman ditch budget briefcase?

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ditched the colonial legacy of the budget briefcase in 2019, replacing it with the traditional 'bahi-khata' to carry Union Budget papers. In 2021, she swapped traditional papers for a digital tablet to carry budget documents due to the pandemic.

Why ‘bahi-khata’ is used?

A 'bahi-khata' is significant in Indian culture, tradition, and history. For decades, people across India have used ‘bahi-khata’ to manage accounts and keep a record of bills. Traders, merchants, sailors, and even small shopkeepers have used this way of maintaining accounts.

History of Budget briefcase

Previous finance ministers, including Arun Jaitley and Piyush Goyal from the Modi government, used the standard Budget briefcase.

The tradition of carrying the Budget briefcase is a British legacy. The word 'Budget' comes from the French word 'bougette,' which means leather briefcase. The budget case was first carried out by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, or Britain's budget chief, in the 18th century.

In 1860, British budget chief William E Gladstone carried budget documents in a red suitcase with the Queen's gold monogram.

Reportedly, Gladstone used a briefcase to store budget documents as his speeches were extraordinarily long, which required him to do so.

Budget briefcases in India over the years

In India, different finance ministers carried briefcases in red, black, tan, or brown.

India's first finance minister, RK Shanmukham Chetty, carried a leather portfolio to present the first Budget in 1947. TT Krishnamachari, in the 1950s, carried something that looked like a file bag. Jawaharlal Nehru carried a black briefcase.

Manmohan Singh, who delivered the iconic 1991 economic liberalisation proposals as finance minister, carried a black bag. Pranab Mukherjee used a red briefcase similar to the Gladstone case of Britain.

Piyush Goyal was the last finance minister who carried budget documents in a briefcase to present the interim budget in February 2019.