Budget 2022: FM Sitharaman replaces 'bahi-khata' with tab

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present and read out Union Budget 2022-23 in the Parliament through a tab instead of the 'bahi-khata' which was first used in 2019. 

On Tuesday morning, Sitharaman along with other Finance Ministry officials posed for a photo-op in front of the office of the ministry. Sitharaman was seen carrying a tab instead of the 'bahi-khata'. This year, the Budget will be presented in a paperless form, hence, Sitharaman will read out the document from a tab. 

Last year too, Sitharaman had read out the Budget from a tab. This was the first time that the Union Budget was presented in a paperless form. 

The tab had been placed inside a red cover with emblem Ashok Stambh embossed on it in golden, bearing a semblance with 'bahi Khata'. The same cover was used this year, as well. 

Sitharaman in her first Budget in 2019 broke the tradition of carrying a leather briefcase that had been for decades used for carrying Budget documents. The tradition of carrying the Budget briefcase was handed over by the British, and a copy of the 'Gladstone box' that is used in the British budget.

The Finance Minister defied tradition and carried the Budget papers in a 'bahi-khata'. 

Budget 2022 will be available in a digital format, apart from a handful of physical copies.  

The government had also launched the 'Union Budget Mobile App' in 2021 so that the Members of Parliament (MPs) and the general public could access the documents with just a few clicks. 

Also read: Budget 2022 Live Updates: FM meets President Kovind, Budget speech at 11am

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