This tradition changed significantly in 2019 when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the 'Bahi Khata.' Finance Minister Sitharaman opted to carry a cloth ledger, or "Bahi Khata." ...
Sitharaman had in her first Budget in 2019 replaced the leather briefcase -- which had been in use for decades for carrying Budget documents -- with a traditional 'bahi-khata' wrapped in red cloth.