Nirmala Sitharaman Ditches 'Colonial' Briefcase, Carries Union Budget Documents In 'Bahi-Khata'

In a departure from age-old tradition , India¡¯s first full-time woman Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday, July 5, 2019, carried the Union Budget documents in a red bag quite similar to the traditional bahi-khata.

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A bahi-khata is a kind of a ledger wrapped in a red-coloured cloth. This bahi-khata that has got the Internet talking contained a copy of the budget speech and other related relevant documents.

Earlier, Finance Ministers in different governments used to carry a briefcase to present the budget, which was considered to be a remnant of our colonial past.

The tradition of posing with the briefcase before the budget speech started with Independent India's first ever budget presented by then Finance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty on November 26, 1947.

Similarly, in 1958, Jawaharlal Nehru who presented that year's budget carried a black briefcase, which was repeated by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 1991.

Speaking to ANI, CEA Subramanian, when asked about the replacement of the briefcase, said, "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."

And @FinMinIndia's trademark briefcase ? is replaced by a Red Cloth for the first time with Satyamev Jayate emblem in gold! ? #BudgetForNewIndia #Budget2019 pic.twitter.com/TcGTxq4olU

¡ª Amit Panchal (@AmitHPanchal) 5 July 2019

"This is considered to be auspicious. Also, ditching the briefcase symbolises our departure from the slavery of western thought."

"The Finance Minister has worked in the United Kingdom and she knows the tradition of our country. We must appreciate her decision," he added.

There's another Budget ritual called the halwa ceremony which is conducted in the Ministry of Finance office at the North Block.

Usually, the Union Finance Minister presides over the halwa ceremony. On the day of halwa ceremony, halwa (Indian sweet dish) is prepared in a kadhai (cauldron). The halwa is then distributed among the Finance Ministry staff.

Earlier, during the customary halwa ceremony, which takes place before the commencement of budget session, Sitharaman started the trend of unfolding the red ribbon rather than cutting it.

As per the Union Minister, cutting a ribbon on an important occasion is not considered auspicious.

Owing to this belief, Sitharaman unfolded the traditional red ribbon and was followed by Thakur and Garg, who also did the same.

Budget 2019 highlights:

-The government will levy more surcharge on high net individuals with taxable income of Rs 2 crore, Rs 5 crore and above; those in highest income bracket need to contribute more to national development. The surcharge will be increased by 3 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.

-Those with an annual salary of up to Rs 5 lakh will not have to pay income tax.

-More than 120 crore Indians now have Aadhaar card. The government has made PAN card and Aadhaar card interchangeable and allows those who don¡¯t have PAN to file returns by simply quoting Aadhaar number and use it wherever they require to use PAN.

-The finance minister has proposed to increase special additional duty and road and infrastructure cess on diesel and petrol by Re 1 per litre.

-By 2022, the 75th year of Independence, every single rural family, except those unwilling to take the connection, will have electricity and clean cooking facility.

-The period of exemption for capital gains arising from sale of house for investment in startups will be extended to March 31, 2021.

-Non-resident Indians (NRIs) may get Aadhaar cards on arrival, without the mandatory waiting period. NRIs currently need to have spent 180 days to be eligible for an Aadhaar card. The government plans to enable them to apply for an Aadhaar card using their Indian passport.