It was already conveyed that the Union Budget 2021 was going to have many firsts given the pandemic. The government had announced it would be a paperless budget and Nirmala Sitharaman was seen carrying a 'Made in India' iPad instead of her iconic Bahi khata, trying to adhere to a new normal, given restrictions due to Covid-19.
The iPad made its debut in the 2021 budget, replacing its predecessors — the Bahi khata and the historic budget briefcase. She was seen holding it up to the media on Monday morning. It was inside a red case bearing the Government of India emblem. Reports suggest it is made in India iPad, promoting the government's Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
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It is tradition for the finance minister of the country to carry a budget briefcase that has the precious papers deciding the future of the Indian economy. While the briefcase was more western, taking from our colonial past, Sitharaman had replaced it with a Bahi khata.
But thanks to Covid-19, this tablet has found place in history.
In 2019, Finance Minister Sitharaman ditched the colonial legacy of a Budget Briefcase for a Bahi-Khata to carry Union Budget Papers. The tradition of carrying the Budget briefcase was handed over to us by the British. India's Budget briefcase was a copy of the 'Gladstone box' that is used in the British budget. The word 'Budget' originated from the french word Bougette, which means leather briefcase. The Bahi Khata, meanwhile, made a return for the Budget 2020 as well.