Picture : Twitter / ANI
For her second budget presentation, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman once again carried documents in a traditional ‘Bahi-Khata’ (ledger) wrapped in a red cloth, similar to what she carried last year.
Dressed in crisp yellow silk saree, accompanied by MoS Finance Anurag Thakur and other officials from her ministry, Sitharam met President Ram Nath Kovind before presenting the budget at 11 am today.
Last year, Sitharaman had ditched the long-standing tradition of carrying budget documents in a leather briefcase and went swadeshi with a ‘bahi-khata’.
Commenting on the shift from a briefcase to ‘bahi-khata’ during the 89th Union Budget, Chief Economic Advisor, Krishnamurthy Subramanian had said in July last year, “The government is following Indian tradition and ‘bahi khata’ symbolises our departure from the slavery of western thought.”
On being asked about the replacement of the briefcase, Subramanian had said, “It is not a budget, but a bahi-khata (ledger).”
“Sitharaman believes that leather-made products are not auspicious for the big occasion, so she avoided the leather bag and took the ‘bahi khata’ wrapped in the red cloth. This is considered to be auspicious,” he had said.
