Dressed in a white silk saree with a purple and gold border, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman walked out of the Finance Ministry with the “bahi-khata” tablet in her hand containing Union Budget 2024-25 on Tuesday.
The Finance Minister will present her seventh Budget and the Modi government’s first Budget of the third term of the NDA government.
Before heading to the parliament, Ms Sitharaman posed for photos with the “bahi-khata” tablet wrapped in a red cloth embossed with the golden national emblem.
Over the years, Ms Sitharaman has stuck to Indian textiles and handloom sarees while presenting the union budgets. In the previous six budget presentations, the Finance Minister chose traditional sarees, highlighting her appreciation for Indian textiles and crafts.
Here’s a look at what Ms Sitharaman wore while presenting the Union Budget:
February 2024
While presenting the interim budget ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, Ms Sitharaman wore a blue tussar silk saree with kantha handiwork. Tussar silk is renowned for its distinctive texture and golden lustre.
2023
Last year, Ms Sitharaman chose a red and black temple border saree with Kasuti threadwork while presenting the Union Budget in 2023.
2022
On Budget Day 2022, the Finance Minister opted for a rust brown Bomkai saree with off-white border detailing.
2021
In 2021, Ms Sitharaman presented the Budget wearing a red and off-white silk Pochampally saree with ikat patterns and a green border. Pochampally ikat is traditionally made in Telangana. This year she chose to make the Budget paperless delivering the Budget speech using a tablet.
2020
In 2020, Ms Sitharaman chose a bright yellow-gold silk saree to present the country’s Budget.
2019
For her first Budget presentation in 2019, Ms Sitharaman wore a simple pink Mangalgiri saree with a gold border. This year she replaced the leather briefcase which was in use for decades to carry Budget documents with a traditional bahi-khata wrapped in a red cloth.
