WATCH: Modi govt makes history! No Budget Briefcase! Nirmala Sitharaman carries 'red cover' to Parliament

WATCH: Yet another historic move by PM Narendra Modi led government has been made! It is now common knowledge that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to become the first full-time woman finance minister to present the Union Budget in the Parliament and that she will also be the second woman after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to present it. Now, the former Defence Minister has added another first to her name as well  - she has replaced the traditional Budget Briefcase with a red cover! Yes, you read it right. The finance minister was seen heading to the Parliament with this red cover instead of the briefcase that was used by her predecessors Arun Jaitley, Piyush Goyal and all the other FMs, thereby changing forever the trend that has been followed for decades. 

Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian described the red cover used by the finance minister as the traditional 'bahi khata'. He said that the 'bahi khata' symbolises the departure of slavery from our western thought. This is the first time when a red cover is being used to carry the budget documents instead of the briefcase.

"It is in Indian tradition. It symbolizes our departure from slavery of Western thought. It is not a budget but a 'bahi khata'(ledger)," he said. 

Watch Nirmala Sitharaman's video -

#BudgetWithZEE | वित्त मंत्री #NirmalaSitharaman राष्ट्रपति भवन के लिए निकलीं, इस बार #BudgetBriefcase के बजाय लाल कपड़े में बंद हैं बजट दस्तावेज

देखें लाइव  https://t.co/6CdaQWMiNR #UnionBudget2019 #Budget2019 pic.twitter.com/jyEEhXISMF

— Zee Business (@ZeeBusiness) July 5, 2019

Why was 'Budget Briefcase' used?

The word Budget originates from the French word bougette which means a leather bag. The briefcase carried by the Finance Minister used to contain the printed budget speech. The tradition was started in the 18th Century when Chancellor of the Exchequer or Britain's budget chief was first asked to 'open the budget' while presenting his annual statement. 

In 1860, the then British budget chief William E Gladstone, known for his long speeches, used a red suitcase with the British Queen's monogram embossed in gold to carry his bundle of papers.