New Delhi:
Just like last year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union budget 2023-2024 paperless today.
Nirmala Sitharam carried a digital tablet in a traditional Bahi-Khata style bag with the national emblem printed on it when she went to parliament to present the budget.
She also posed for a photo outside her office along with her team of officials. This is Ms Sitharaman’s fifth budget presentation since she took charge of the Ministry of Finance in 2019.
In July 2019, Mrs. Sitharaman had exchanged the colonial legacy of a ‘Budget Briefcase’ for the traditional ‘Bahi Khata’ Carry Union budget papers with you. She used the same in 2020.
In a pandemic-ravaged 2021, she swapped traditional paper for a digital tablet to dedicate her speech and other budget documents.
In the same year, the Minister of Finance also launched the ‘Union Budget Mobile App’ for hassle-free access to budget documents by parliamentarians and the public.
On Tuesday, Ms. Sitharaman presented the economic survey for fiscal year 2022-23 in the Lok Sabha, stating that India’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is complete and the economy is expected to grow in the range of 6 to 6.8 percent in the coming fiscal year. This compares to the estimated 7 percent this fiscal year and 8.7 percent in 2021-22.