Nirmala Sitharaman ditches briefcase for red bag to carry Budget papers
The finance minister today stepped outside of her North Block office at Delhi’s Raisina Hills, carrying a red bagCEA Krishnamurthy Subramanian said the traditional 'bahikhata' symbolises departure of slavery from our western thought
As Nirmala Sitharaman gets set to become the first female full-time finance minister to present the Union Budget, she is demolishing long-established customs, of course made by and made for men.
The finance minister today stepped outside of her North Block office at Delhi’s Raisina Hills, carrying a red bag. Gone was the briefcase that her male predecessors have carried at the time of the annual ritual.
Replacing the briefcase was a smart, red coloured bag that she happily carried in her right hand. The bag sported the national emblem, the Ashoka Chakra, on the front. CEA Krishnamurthy Subramanian said the traditional 'bahikhata' symbolises departure of slavery from our western thought.
Sitharaman posed for photographers outside the colonial era building made of rose pink and pale yellow sandstone. In tow were minister of state for finance Anurag Thakur, finance secretary S.C. Garg, revenue secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, other secretaries of the ministry and officials.
The Budget will be presented in the Lok Sabha at 11AM.
The Budget documents comprise a set of several bound books. The subjects they cover are an annual financial statement, demand for grants, Appropriation Bill, Finance Bill, a memorandum explaining the provisions in the Finance Bill, macro-economic framework for the relevant financial year, fiscal policy strategy statement for the financial year, medium term fiscal policy statement, expenditure profile, expenditure budget and the receipts budget.
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was the first woman to have delivered Union Budget when she did so in 1970. But hers was a role in addition to the all-important job of being the country’s Prime Minister.
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