Budget 2023: Journey of briefcase to digital 'bahi khata'

All eyes are now on the Union Budget 2023 and what it will bring to the table. Here, we take a look at the journey of the budget briefcase over the years.

Over the years, the Budget presentation has seen many changes with changing times. Every year, on Budget day the Finance Minister poses with a red briefcase outside the Parliament ahead of the Budget presentation. This tradition is religiously followed to date by all the Union Finance Ministers in India. Credit: PTI Photo

The Budget briefcase tradition was inherited by Britishers. In 1860, then British Budget chief William E. Gladstone used a red suitcase with the Queen’s monogram embossed in it. This was called 'Gladstone Box' and all the supreme heads carried this box during their budget presentation. Credit: Twitter/@PadraigBelton

The original 'Gladstone' briefcase was officially retired in 2010 and one can find it in Churchill War Rooms. Credit: Twitter/@UkNatArchives

While in Britain, the Budget briefcase was passed on from one finance minister to another. Indian FMs kept changing bags during their tenure. Credit: PTI Photo

India’s first finance minister R K Shanmukham Chetty carried the first Budget briefcase on November 26, 1947. Credit: Twitter/@prasarbharati

In 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman scripted history by breaking the tradition. She ditched the colonial legacy of the traditional ledger and opted for a 'Bahi Khata' to carry budget papers. Credit: PTI Photo

Adapting to changing times, Nirmala Sitharaman presented a complete paperless Budget in 2021. Nirmala Sitharaman was seen carrying a 'Made in India' iPad replacing the 'Bahi Khata'. Credit: PTI Photo

In 2023, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman again took a digital tablet wrapped in a traditional 'bahi-khata' style pouch as she headed to the Parliament to present the Union Budget 2023-24 in a paperless format just like the previous two years. Credit: PTI Photo