Budget 2023: Evolution of the budget briefcase from Gladstone box to iPad

The word 'Budget' originated from the french word Bougette, which means leather briefcase. This tradition of carrying the Budget briefcase was a copy of 'Gladstone box' was passed by the British

In 1860, British budget chief William E. Gladstone carried the papers for the budget in a red suitcase with the Queen's monogram embossed in gold. This suitcase later got famous and was called as 'Gladstone Box'

The UK is still stuck to the red Gladstone box, though the original one retired in 2010 as it had becomes very shabby

In India while the tradition was followed every finance minister used a different briefcase with different colors

India's first finance minister RK Shanmukham Chetty used a leather portfolio to carry the papers for the budget presentation on November 26, 1947

In 1974 finance minister Yashwarntrao Chavan carried a steel-lined suitcase

However, in 2015 finance minister Arun Jaitely carried a tan briefcase

In 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ditched the briefcase and opted for Bahi Khata

Later in 2021, she ditched the bahi khata to go paperless and used an iPad for her presentation. This budget she is expected to continue the tradition and use her iPad