Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman replaced the Swadeshi bahi khata with a tablet ahead of the Union Budget 2021, which was delivered in a paperless form for the first time at 11 am on Monday, 1 February.
The finance minister was seen carrying the tablet in a red cover with a golden-coloured national emblem embossed on it.
The tablet is reportedly made in India.
In 2019, Sitharaman left behind the long-established tradition of carrying the concerned documents on Budget day inside a leather briefcase, going ahead with a bahi-khata (a ledger wrapped in red cloth). She had remarked that the Modi administration is not a “suitcase-carrying government.”
According to the Finance Ministry, Sitharaman had launched the "Union Budget Mobile App" for convenient access to Budget documents for Members of Parliament (MPs) and the general public.
The app facilitates access to 14 Union Budget documents, including the Annual Financial Statement (commonly known as Budget), Demand for Grants (DG), and Finance Bill as prescribed by the Constitution, news agency ANI reported.
Budget 2021 assumes greater significance as it comes amid the COVID-19 health crisis, which has caused major economic upheaval all over the world.
(With inputs from ANI)
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