Yogi Adityanath hails Centre for introducing paperless Union Budget, SP raises questions

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday hailed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for introducing India's first paperless Union Budget this year.

On the other hand, Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav resorted to a bizarre line of questioning the Union Budget ahead of its presentation in the Parliament on Monday as he demanded to know why the 2021 budget was paperless. With the Union Budget 2021 set to be delivered in paperless form for the first time, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman replaced the Swadeshi 'bahi khata' and switched to a tablet. Unlike other leaders, senior SP neta Ramgopal Yadav categorically stated that his party had no expectations from the Centre regarding the budget. Further, he also questioned if the printing of other documents had been stopped by the government. 

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FM Sitharaman replaces 'Bahi Khata'

It is to be recalled that in 2019, Sitharaman ditched the long-standing tradition of carrying budget documents in a leather briefcase and went swadeshi with a 'bahi-khata'. She had said that the Modi government is not a "suitcase-carrying government", in an apparent jibe at the past dispensations. This year, the Union Budget will be delivered in paperless form for the first time.

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The word 'Budget' originated from the french word Bougette, which means leather briefcase. The tradition of carrying the Budget briefcase was a copy of the 'Gladstone box' that is used in the British budget. In 1860, the then British budget chief William E Gladstone used a red suitcase with Queen's monogram embossed in gold to carry his documents, which came to be known as 'Gladstone Box'. In 1947, India's first Finance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty carried a leather portfolio to present the first Budget. Before Sitharaman, a long-standing tradition in connection with the budget presentation was broken during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government with the then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha presenting the budget at 11 am rather than at the traditional time of 5 pm. Since then all governments have been presenting the budget at 11 am.

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Full time table of Union Budget 2021

Time: 8:30 AM approx
FM will leave her residence for North Block 

Time: 9:00 AM
Photo along with Budget Team when FM Nirmala Sitharaman leaving for Rashtrapati Bhawan

Time: 10:00 AM
Photo Shoot when FM entering the Parliament House with Budget Briefcase

Time: 10:15 AM
Union Cabinet meeting in Parliament to pass the Budget

Time: 11:00 AM 
FM will present Budget

Time: 3:00 PM
FM Nirmala Sitharaman will address a Post Budget Press Conference along with Minister of State for Finance and all other Secretaries at Media Center

Time: 4:45 PM
Suneet Sharma, Chairman & CEO, Railway Board along with other Railway Board Members will hold a Press Conference on provisions for Indian Railways in General Budget 2021 in Conference Hall, 2nd Floor, Rail Bhawan, New Delhi.

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