On July 23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met with President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in a traditional ritual known as ‘dahi-cheeni,’ which symbolizes good luck before significant tasks. This ritual precedes the presentation of the Union Budget, marking a notable event as Sitharaman prepares for her seventh consecutive Budget presentation, a milestone that also makes her the first finance minister to surpass former Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s record.
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- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhawan on July 23.
- The meeting included a traditional ‘dahi-cheeni’ ritual, symbolizing good luck.
- This will be Sitharaman’s seventh consecutive Budget presentation.
- It is the Modi government’s 13th straight Budget since 2014.
- Sitharaman becomes the first finance minister to present seven consecutive Budgets, surpassing Morarji Desai’s record of six.
- Earlier in the day, Sitharaman and her team took a traditional photo outside the Finance Ministry.
- Sitharaman wore an off-white saree with a magenta border and displayed a red ‘bahi-khata’ tablet.
- In 2019, Sitharaman introduced the ‘bahi khata,’ replacing the traditional Budget briefcase.
- In 2021, she presented the Budget in a paperless format using a ‘Made in India’ tablet.
- The Budget Session began on July 22 and is scheduled to end on August 12.
