What's in a name, you would say. A lot, says Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) K Subramanian.
Ahead of the Budget 2019-20 announcement, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman posed for the shutterbugs, the Budget briefcase was conspicuous by its absence. Replacing it was a red fabric folder.
Subramanian explained the logic behind it. He said, "It [the read fabric folder] is in Indian tradition. It symbolises our departure from slavery of the Western thought. It is not a Budget, but a 'bahi khaata' [ledger]."
For the unversed, a 'bahi khaata' dates back to the pre-Independence era when the transaction detail of a company or a business firm were maintained on a bundle of papers, stitched to form a ledger and bound by a red canvas fabric.
Posing for the shutterbugs with the Budget briefcase is a peculiar ritual that takes place right outside the Parliament on the Budget day.
What is a 'Budget Briefcase'?
The 'budget briefcase' contains the printed budget speech.
India and the Budget briefcase
On November 26, 1947, the then finance minister, RK Shanmukham Chetty, carried a leather bag when he presented Independent India's first ever budget.
Jawahar Lal Nehru carried a black briefcase in 1958. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh also carried a black briefcase when he delivered the iconic 'Epochal Budget' in the year 1991.
Piyush Goyal, who presented the interim Budget on February 1, 2019, carried a 'red briefcase'.
Earlier in the morning, Sitharaman posed for the shutterbugs with a red fabric folder -- a diversion from the age-old practice of carrying a regular maroonish leather briefcase.
Also Read | Budget 2019-20: Nirmala Sitharaman expected to enhance start-up fund; here's what to expect
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