The Budget briefcase is a British legacy. The word 'Budget' originates from the French word 'bougette', which means leather briefcase
Image: File
The Budget briefcase tradition started in the 18th century when Britain's budget chief was asked to 'open the budget' while presenting his annual statement
Image: File
In 1860, the then British budget chief William E Gladstone carried his papers in a red suitcase with the Queen's monogram in gold
Image: File
The first Union Budget of Independent India was presented on November 26, 1947 by RK Shanmukham Chetty. He carried a leather bag
Image: X/@IndiaHistorypic
Jawaharlal Nehru, who presented the budget in 1958, carried a black briefcase
Image: File
Manmohan Singh, who delivered the Budget in 1991, carried a black bag
Image: File
Yashwant Sinha, finance minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led governments, also carried a black bag
Image: File
Former Finance Ministers Pranab Mukherjee and Arun Jaitley also carried a briefcase
Image: File
Piyush Goyal, who presented the interim Budget in February 2019, also carried a briefcase
Image: File
In 2019, Nirmala Sitharaman famously carried a "Budget Bahikhata", a nod to the traditional ledger accounts maintained in India
Image: File
In subsequent years, Nirmala Sitharaman took a big stride towards digital India by switching to a Budget tablet encased in a red sleeve, Bahikhata-style