India’s budget has seen various phases of economic changes since it was first drafted by the independent government in 1947. Its evolution from a simple record of income and spending into a powerful tool for reform, crisis response, and institutional transformation has shaped India’s growth.

In her first Union Budget in 2019, Sitharaman had replaced the leather briefcase — which had been in use for decades for carrying Budget documents — with a more traditional ‘bahi-khata’ wrapped in a red cloth.