India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chose to ditch the practice of delivering the country's budget to parliament in a "colonial" briefcase, choosing instead to flaunt a traditional bright-red ledger known as bahi-khata in Hindi.
Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian said the traditional ledger symbolized a “departure from the slavery of western thought.”
Sitharaman’s budget, the first since India Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s re-election, announced various economic measures including a housing boost for the middle-class, stimulation for new start-ups and measures to improve infrastructure.
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Previously India’s defense minister, Sitharaman is the first female finance minister since Indira Gandhi, who held the position in 1970-1 while also acting as prime minister.
Her decision to hold the traditional ledger sparked debate on Indian social media, resulting in much praise and some ridicule.
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Many lauded her commitment to Indian tradition while others criticized it, asking questions like why she drove to parliament in a vehicle instead of riding there by bullock cart.
Writer Samanth Subramanian described the “colonial” budget briefcase as a “giant colonial holdover, harking back to a similar budget speech that has been delivered by Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer for many decades.”
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Fox News' Morgan Cheung contributed to this report.