Budget 2023: Sitharaman dons bright red saree, carries 'bahi khata' tablet for paperless budget

The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was seen carrying the Budget 2023 documents in a red silk bag with national emblem.

New Delhi, Feb 01: Ahead of the presentation of Union Budget 2023-24 in the Parliament on Wednesday, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman kept her look simple and elegant, sporting a red silk saree with a black and gold border detailing as she posed with the ministry officials in front of the office of the finance ministry on Wednesday.

Sitharaman's love for handloom sarees is no secret. She has always encouraged local artisans by wearing beautiful, intricate works by them at the parliament.

Generally, the finance minister goes for bright colours on Budget day. In 2021, she chose a mellowed colour for a change, as she wore a rusty, maroon handloom.

Sitharaman, who in her maiden budget presentation in 2019 shunned the long-standing practice of carrying the speech and budget documents in a briefcase in favour of a 'bahi-khata' holding the papers, used a hand-held tablet to read her speech on the last two occasions. Last year, she came to Parliament holding the gadget inside the red-coloured 'bahi-khata' cloth.

Since coming to power, the Modi government has curtailed printing of Budget copies - initially culling copies distributed to journalists and outside analysts and then reducing those provided to MPs citing outbreak of pandemic. Last year, the outbreak of the highly infectious Omicron variant brought more curbs.

The budget documents usually include finance minister's speech in Parliament, highlights, annual financial statement, finance bill containing tax proposals, memorandum explaining the provisions in financial bill, macro economic framework statement, medium-term fiscal policy cum fiscal policy strategy statement.

With the move aimed at a paperless Budget, 'bahi khata' (a ledger wrapped in a red cloth) has been completely removed -- a move to reinforce Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious 'Digital India' mission.

In 1947, India's first Finance Minister R. K. Shanmukham Chetty carried a leather portfolio to present the first Budget.

The Union Budget will be paperless this year too, in an attempt to go green. Going paperless will enable the government to cut down on the printing of documents for the presentation of tax proposals and financial statements. Barring a handful of physical copies, the Budget 2023 documents will be available mostly digitally.

The government had launched the 'Union Budget Mobile App' in 2021 so that the Members of Parliament (MPs) and the general public could access the documents with just a few clicks.