Budget 2025: Retro look with digital tablet inside – FM Nirmala Sitharaman continues tradition 'bahi-khata' style

Budget 2025: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present her eighth consecutive Budget today, Saturday (February 1), continuing her tradition of using a digital tablet enclosed in a traditional 'bahi-khata' style pouch, marking a significant shift from the colonial-era practice of carrying Budget documents in a leather briefcase.

The finance minister will deliver her budget speech in Lok Sabha at 11 am. Sitharaman, India's first full-time woman Finance Minister, first broke away from the colonial tradition in July 2019 by opting for a 'bahi-khata'—a traditional Indian ledger—to carry the Budget papers. In 2021, amid the pandemic, she replaced the physical documents with a digital tablet, a practice she has continued ever since.

Dressed in an off-white handloom silk saree adorned with fish-themed embroidery and a golden border, Sitharaman posed for the customary 'briefcase' photo outside her North Block office, accompanied by her team of officials. The digital tablet, securely placed inside a red cover featuring the golden national emblem, symbolises a blend of tradition and modernity.

In 1860, British budget chief William E. Gladstone introduced the tradition of carrying Budget papers in a red suitcase adorned with the Queen's monogram in gold. The Budget briefcase became a necessity due to Gladstone’s lengthy speeches, requiring a dedicated case to hold his documents.

In India, finance ministers have used various styles and colors of briefcases over the years. The country’s first finance minister, R.K. Shanmukham Chetty, carried a leather portfolio while presenting the inaugural Budget in 1947. In the 1950s, T.T. Krishnamachari opted for a file bag, while Jawaharlal Nehru was seen with a black briefcase.

Manmohan Singh, who introduced the landmark 1991 economic liberalisation reforms, also carried a black bag. Pranab Mukherjee, during his tenure as finance minister in the Manmohan Singh-led government, used a red briefcase resembling Britain’s Gladstone case.

The last finance minister to uphold the Budget briefcase tradition was Piyush Goyal, who presented the interim Budget in February 2019 with a red case.

On Budget day, India's finance minister traditionally poses with the Budget bag outside Parliament, mirroring the British practice where the Chancellor of the Exchequer does the same in front of 11 Downing Street before delivering the Budget speech.

After presenting her first Budget in 2019, Nirmala Sitharaman described the bahi-khata as a departure from colonial customs, emphasising the need to embrace Indian traditions.

"Why did I not use a leather bag to carry budget documents? I thought it is high time we move on from the British hangover, to do something on our own. And well, easier for me to carry too," she had said.

One of her predecessors, P Chidambaram of the Congress, had, however, scoffed at her choice in that year. "A Congress finance minister in future will bring an iPad," the former finance minister had said when asked to comment on the bahi-khata. And Sitharaman did just that in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and twice this year.