Briefcase, bahi khata, tablet: How Nirmala Sitharaman has changed budget presentation

Year after year, the country has seen finance ministers carry a briefcase with them for the budget presentation. However, in 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman scripted history when she brought a bahi khata with her, and two years later, switched it up with a ‘Made in India’ tablet

Come July 23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her record-breaking seventh consecutive budget in a row. While many will keenly watch this presentation, one aspect that many may keep an eye on is the pouch she carries with her to Parliament for the budget presentation.

It is Sitharaman, in fact, that changed tradition. Until 2019, finance ministers through the years had carried a briefcase for the budget presentation. However, in that year, she chose a red cloth pouch. And two years later, made history again when she switched over to a red pouch in which there was a tablet.

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As we prep for this big day, here’s a look at the history of the suitcase and its significance in the financial exercise.

Where did the briefcase tradition come from?

Unknown to many, the word Budget has its origin in the French word ‘Bougette’, which means leather briefcase. And that’s the reason why we have seen finance ministers over the years holding it at Parliament.

The tradition comes from the United Kingdom from the 18th Century. The first budget box was designed in 1860 for the Chancellor of the UK back then, William Ewart Gladstone, who commissioned a wooden box, lined in black satin and covered in scarlet leather with Queen’s monogram embossed in gold.

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The colour red, it is said, was chosen perhaps for two reasons: One could be Prince Albert’s preference, aligning with the colour on the arms of his house. The second is that Queen Elizabeth I’s representative presented a red briefcase filled with black puddings to the Spanish ambassador in the late 16th century, initiating the red colour tradition.

The UK since then has stuck to the red Gladstone box. However, in 2010, UK’s red Gladstone bag had become so shabby that it was ‘officially’ retired.

What about India’s budget briefcase?

Following in the footsteps of Britain, Indian ministers too carried a briefcase for the budget presentation. But, there has been no specific colour used for the briefcase. Over the years, we have seen finance ministers using briefcases that were red, black and even tan in colour.

The first budget of India on 26 November, 1947 saw then Finance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty carrying a trademark budget bag. In 1974, Yashwantrao Chavan walked up to Parliament with a steel-lined suitcase. During the 1998-99 budget, Yashwant Singh’s briefcase had buckles and straps, whereas Manmohan Singh carried a briefcase similar to the Gladstone box, although black in colour in 1991. Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram was seen with a scarlet leather briefcase much like the British one and Arun Jaitley had carried a tan briefcase in 2015.

However, not all finance ministers have used the bag at the Budget presentation. Finance ministers TT Krishnamachari in 1957-58 and 1964-65, and Morarji Desai in 1959-1964 and 1967-70, carried their budget speeches – in files.

How did Sitharaman break briefcase tradition?

The briefcase tradition continued until 2019. However, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her first Union Budget, she scripted history by breaking the tradition. She ditched the briefcase and opted for the ‘Bahi Khata’ to carry the budget papers.

The Bahi Khata has been used by Indian households, neighbourhood shops, and small enterprises to manage their budget for years immemorial and it seems that Sitharaman wanted to reflect that in her debut budget.'

When asked about her move, she said: “For Budget 2019, I did not carry a suitcase. We are not a suitcase-carrying government. A suitcase also denotes something else, ‘suitcase taking, suitcase giving.’ Modiji’s government is not a suitcase government.”

And Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian said on Nirmala Sitharaman keeping budget documents in the four-fold red cloth instead of a briefcase, “It is in Indian tradition. It symbolises our departure from the slavery of Western thought. It is not a budget but a ‘bahi khata’ (ledger).”

The following year, in 2020, she presented the budget yet again with the bahi khata and said that it was time to get over the British hangover. “I thought it was better we move out from British handhold. And I thought it was good enough to do something on our own. It was easier for me to carry also and very Indian,” Sitharaman said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman once again changed it up in 2021. The bahi khata gave way to a tablet, a move in tandem with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for a ‘Digital India.’

According to a CNBCTV18 report, Sitharaman read out her budget from the ‘Made in India’ tablet, manufactured by Samsung. The report added that the red folder and State Emblem of India stamped on the folder were also Made in India. The stamp of State Emblem, which is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka from 250 BCE at Sarnath, was made in Moradabad.

But, what’s in the budget bag?

While a lot has been discussed about the bag, very little has been said about the contents of the bag. However, simply put, the briefcase or now tablet carries the finance minister’s budget speech and financial documents. This is revealed once the budget presentation is completed.

With inputs from agencies