From bahi-khata to longest speech, Sitharaman holds several budget records

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has broken through the glass ceiling to be in the driving seat of the world’s fifth-largest economy. Within just around a decade of joining the politics, she trumped several stalwarts to find a place in the top four of the union cabinet – first as defence minister and subsequently as finance minister.

Before Sitharaman, both these portfolios had been held only by men, with the exception of Indira Gandhi who had held defence and finance portfolios in different periods as an additional charge during her tenure as prime minister of India.

Sitharaman is the first full-time finance minister of the country. She is set to present her fifth straight budget as union finance minister on Feb 1. Here is a look at some interesting facts and records that Sitharaman holds as finance minister of the country:

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Bahi-Khata

In her maiden budget presentation in July 2019, Nirmala Sitharaman ended the century-old tradition of carrying budget documents in a leather briefcase. She carried the budget documents wrapped in a red silk bag with the national emblem embossed on it. It has been appreciated as a significant move to get rid of the colonial tradition. Commenting on her decision to opt for Bahi-Khata in place of briefcase Sitharaman had said, “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.”

Longest budget speech

Nirmala Sitharaman holds the record for delivering the longest budget speech. On February 1, 2020 she spoke for 162 minutes while presenting the Union Budget 2020-21, surpassing her own record of 137 minutes in the previous budget. In fact, she was not able to read the last two pages of her budget speech because she felt unwell. Despite that, the budget speech of February 1, 2020 is the longest ever.

Before Sitharaman, the record of the longest budget speech was held by Jaswant Singh who spoke for 135 minutes while presenting the union budget for 2003-04. However, in terms of the number of words the record of the longest budget speech is held by Manmohan Singh who used 18,650 words while presenting the budget in 1991. Sitharaman’s budget speech of 2020, which holds the record of the longest speech in terms of duration, comprised 13,275 words.

Paperless Budget

In Covid pandemic-hit 2021 Nirmala Sitharaman set another record by presenting the first paperless budget. She presented the Union Budget 2021-22 in digital format. The finance minister read her budget speech in the parliament through a digital tablet. Upon completion of the speech, the budget documents were made available through mobile apps. In 2022 also Sitharaman continued with the tradition of paperless budgets. While in 2021 the paperless budget was presented to minimise physical contact in the time of Covid, it has now become the practice. Like the previous two Union Budgets, Union Budget 2023-24 will also be delivered in paperless form, the union finance ministry said last week.

The highest number of budget presented by a woman

Nirmala Sitharaman has so far presented four union budgets. She is the only woman till now to achieve this feat. In 2019, she became the second woman in the history of independent India to present the union budget. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was the first woman in independent India to present the union budget. In 1970, Gandhi presented the union budget for the financial year 1970-71.