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| Nirmala Sitharaman: India finance minister ditches 'colonial' budget briefcase | Nirmala Sitharaman: India finance minister ditches 'colonial' budget briefcase |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chose to ditch the "colonial" briefcase while presenting her maiden budget to parliament. | |
| Ms Sitharaman, instead, carried a bright red traditional ledger known as bahi-khata in Hindi. | Ms Sitharaman, instead, carried a bright red traditional ledger known as bahi-khata in Hindi. |
| Her chief economic adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian said it symbolised a "departure from the slavery of western thought". | Her chief economic adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian said it symbolised a "departure from the slavery of western thought". |
| This is the first budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second term. | This is the first budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second term. |
| Ms Sitharaman, who was previously India's defence minister, has announced several measures including a housing boost for the middle-class, incentives for new start-ups and measures to improve infrastructure. | |
| She is the first female finance minister after Indira Gandhi who also held the portfolio in 1970-71 while she was prime minister. | She is the first female finance minister after Indira Gandhi who also held the portfolio in 1970-71 while she was prime minister. |
| The parliamentary speaker, Om Birla, made it a point to congratulate her as the first "full-time female finance minister" after she finished the speech. | The parliamentary speaker, Om Birla, made it a point to congratulate her as the first "full-time female finance minister" after she finished the speech. |
| However, her bold choice of budget-carrying accessory has caused a lot of chatter on Indian social media. | |
| While there were many who lauded her commitment to Indian tradition, others ridiculed it, asking questions like why she drove to parliament in a vehicle instead of travelling there by bullock cart and asking if her speech was printed on palm leaves. | While there were many who lauded her commitment to Indian tradition, others ridiculed it, asking questions like why she drove to parliament in a vehicle instead of travelling there by bullock cart and asking if her speech was printed on palm leaves. |
| The budget briefcase, which was once described by writer Samanth Subramanian as a "giant colonial holdover, harking back to a similar budget speech that has been delivered by Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer for many decades". | The budget briefcase, which was once described by writer Samanth Subramanian as a "giant colonial holdover, harking back to a similar budget speech that has been delivered by Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer for many decades". |
| However, Ms Sitharaman is not the first finance minister to depart from the briefcase. | However, Ms Sitharaman is not the first finance minister to depart from the briefcase. |
| The history of Britain's budget briefcase | |
| India's first finance minister RK Shanmukham Chetty also carried his budget speech in a leather satchel although to be fair, it looked very much like a briefcase. | India's first finance minister RK Shanmukham Chetty also carried his budget speech in a leather satchel although to be fair, it looked very much like a briefcase. |
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