Nirmala Sitharaman’s bahi khata: 10 things to know

New Delhi, Feb 01: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman continues her tradition with a red cloth bahi khata to present the budget. It is believed that it will not just be about the government's finances but will also set the roadmap for economic growth during the new decade.

Bahi-khata is referred to books of account maintained by traditional Indian businessmen.

Earlier, finance ministers in different governments used a briefcase to carry budget documents, a practice considered as a British tradition.

• The Budget briefcase is the Indian equivalent of the 'Gladstone box' or the budget box used in the British budget.
• Former PM and four-time Chancellor William Gladstone used a red suitcase with Queen's monogram embossed in gold to carry his bundle of papers back in 1860.
• The red box is used to transport the Budget speech during the 19th century.
• The original Gladstone bag was officially retired from British service in 2010.
• Finance Ministers in India carry different Budget briefcases, while in Britain only one briefcase is passed on from one finance minister to another.
• On Budget day, the Indian Finance Minister poses with the Budget briefcase outside the Parliament
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• On July 5, 2019, however, FM Nirmala Sitharaman broke with over a century-old tradition, abandoning the traditional leather briefcase containing the Budget speech. Instead, she brought the documents wrapped in a four-fold red cloth, symbolising our departure from the slavery of Western thought.
• India's first FM RN Shanmukham Chetty carried a leather portfolio to present the first Budget in 1947.
• Beginning 1970 onwards, Indian FMs started carrying a hardbound briefcase.