New Delhi, Feb 1 (UNI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday commenced Budget presentation for 2021-22 in the Lok Sabha.

This is the first Budget to be presented in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic which has created havoc both on health and wealth. All sectors of the economy have been severely affected by the pandemic and looking for relief.

It is expected that the government enhances purchasing power of comman man as the demand has dropped sharply.

Job creation, rural and distress, slumping real estate and manufacturing, are other challenges.

The investors are looking for more ease in investing while traders seeking smooth roads.



This is the third consecutive Budget to be presented by Ms Sitharaman. Her maiden Budget presentation was in July 2019 when she was appointed as the Union Finance Minister after the National Democratic Alliance government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi won the Lok Sabha elections in May 2019 for the second time.

Ms Sitharaman again carried "Bahi-Khata", a traditional ledger of records, instead of a colonial briefcase to present General Budget in Parliament on Monday.

The colonial legacy of carrying the Budget papers in briefcase was dropped last year by Ms Sitharaman when she, for the first time in the history of Independent India, carried the Budget in a "Bahi-Khata", wrapped in a red-cloth.

Before 2020, all Finance Ministers, including that of Bharatiya Janata Party, had carried a briefcase to Parliament on the Budget day.

UNI PS SB 1133