The Union government has been stressing on going digital over the years, to take the country to the next level, moreso amidst COVID-19 and the lockdown. Now Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has replaced the Swadeshi ‘bahi khata’ and switched to a tablet in the Union Budget 2021 and as paperless for the first time is setting a new trend.
The Finance Minister was seen carrying a tablet kept inside a red coloured cover with a golden coloured national emblem embossed on it.
What’s more, the markets soar as sensex surges 400 points ahead of the 11am budget session. Is this a sign of hope for better days ahead following this budget session? This budget is critical as it comes in wake of the country taking an economic hit amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown which was a big setback for several big, medium and small businesses while several people in the corporate sector lost their jobs or or faced paycuts.
The budget is likely to lay emphasis on ‘Atma Nirbhar’ initiatives, keeping with speeches on similar lines by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the pandemic.
Dressed in a red and cream colour saree, accompanied by MoS Finance Anurag Thakur and other officials from her ministry, Sitharaman is scheduled to meet President Ram Nath Kovind before presenting the budget.
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In 2019, Sitharaman ditched the long-standing tradition of carrying budget documents in a leather briefcase and went swadeshi with a ‘bahi-khata’. She had said that the Modi government is not a “suitcase-carrying government”, in an apparent jibe at the past dispensations.
Finance Minister had launched the “Union Budget Mobile App” for hassle-free access of Budget documents by Members of Parliament (MPs) and the general public using the simplest form of digital convenience, according to the Finance Ministry.
The App facilitates complete access to 14 Union Budget documents, including the Annual Financial Statement (commonly known as Budget), Demand for Grants (DG), and Finance Bill as prescribed by the Constitution.
The word ‘Budget’ originated from the french word Bougette, which means leather briefcase. The tradition of carrying the Budget briefcase was a copy of the ‘Gladstone box’ that is used in the British budget.
In 1860, the then British budget chief William E Gladstone used a red suitcase with Queen’s monogram embossed in gold to carry his documents, which came to be known as ‘Gladstone Box’.
In 1947, India’s first Finance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty carried a leather portfolio to present the first Budget.
Before Sitharaman, a long-standing tradition in connection with the budget presentation was broken during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government with the then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha presenting the budget at 11 am rather than at the traditional time of 5 pm.
Since then all governments have been presenting the budget at 11 am.
(With ANI inputs)