FM Sitharaman presents Budget on digital device instead of ‘bahi-khata’

Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget of the Union for 2023-24 with a digital device instead of the traditional ‘bahi-khata’ in her hands. Wednesday Budget will be Sitharaman’s fifth budget presentation as finance minister.

In 2019, the Union’s budget was presented in a traditional ‘bahi-khata’ instead of a leather briefcase. It was the first time since independence that a finance minister had opted out of a briefcase or bound leather case.
The minister received a lot of attention in 2019 not only for wearing a ‘bahi-khata’, but also for implying the rich culture that the country possesses.

A ‘bahi-khata’ has a prominent place in Indian culture, tradition and history. For decades, the Indian way of managing accounts and keeping accounts was done in a ‘bahi-khata’. Traders, merchants, sailors and even small shopkeepers have retained this way of keeping their data.

However, in 2021, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the government had to take necessary measures to maintain the security and safety of everyone. The finance minister went ahead with the first paperless budget with a digital tablet in a red colored cover with the national emblem on it.

That same year, the minister also launched the ‘Union Budget mobile app‘ for hassle-free access to budget documents by parliamentarians and the general public. Following the same trend the following year, the 2022 Union budget was also a paperless budget.

On Wednesday, the Budget documents will be available on the ‘Union Budget Mobile App’ on both Android and Apple OS platforms following the completion of the budget speech by the Treasury Secretary.

As every year, the Treasury Secretary will first visit the Northern Bloc on Raisina Hill ahead of the presentation of the budget on Wednesday. She will then meet President Droupadi Murmu and present the Union’s budget for 2023 at 11:00 am in parliament.

Earlier on Tuesday Sitharaman has submitted the economic outlook for the 2022-2023 financial year in the Lok Sabha, stating that India’s economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic is complete and the economy is expected to grow at a rate of 6 to 6.8 percent in the upcoming fiscal year 2023-2024. This compares to the estimated 7 percent this fiscal year and 8.7 percent in 2021-22.

Budget 2023 is likely to be the final full budget of the Modi government in its second term with the next Lok Sabha elections in April-May 2024. A large portion of the people expect lower taxes, borrowing rates and lower prices of essential goods.

The parliament’s budget session began on Tuesday with President Droupadi Murmu’s speech to the joint session, where she spoke on a variety of topics in her maiden speech after being elected to the country’s highest office last year.

Prior to the Budget Session of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday: “India’s budget will try to meet the hopes and aspirations of ordinary citizens amid the volatile global economic situation.”

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