Budget 2024: From briefcase to ‘bahi khata’, here’s how budget presentations have evolved

Over the years, the presentation of the Union Budget in India has undergone a major transformation. Traditionally, finance ministers have been photographed carrying a briefcase into Parliament for the occasion. However, in 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman departed from this custom and launched a ‘bahi khata,’ a standard Indian accounting ledger, changing the colonial-era briefcase.

Going paperless 

The transition continued in 2021 when Sitharaman embraced a paperless format, utilizing a ‘Made in India’ pill for the budget presentation. This trendy strategy aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on a ‘digital India’ and coincided with the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the finance minister prepares to current the interim budget for FY 2024-25, the evolution from the standard briefcase to a paperless mode displays a mix of custom and technological developments. The ‘bahi khata’ and pill have grow to be symbols of this evolution, emphasising a departure from colonial legacies and a dedication to a extra digital and indigenous strategy to the budgetary course of.

In what format will this yr’s budget be presnted? 

According to a press launch from the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the Union Budget for 2023–24 shall be introduced in a paperless format. All 14 Union Budget paperwork, together with the Annual Financial Statement, Demand for Grants, Finance Bill, and many others., as mandated by the Constitution, shall be accessible by way of the “Union Budget Mobile App.”

The initiative goals to present Members of Parliament (MPs) and most people with hassle-free entry to budget paperwork utilizing a user-friendly digital platform. The cellular app is bilingual (English and Hindi) and might be downloaded on each Android and iOS platforms.

Following the completion of the Budget Speech by the Finance Minister in Parliament on February 1, 2023, the Budget paperwork shall be made out there on the cellular app. The app may also be downloaded from the Union Budget Web Portal (www.indiabudget.gov.in).

Nirmala Sitharaman is ready to unveil her sixth budget on February 1. Given that it’s an election yr, she is going to current an interim budget, generally generally known as a “vote-on-account.” A complete budget shall be introduced after the brand new cupboard is shaped subsequent to the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.